Journey to the Past
by LoveIsLost29
Summary: It's been 6 yrs since they were students at East High. Sharpay is the drama teacher. Troy is the new basketball coach, reappearing after leaving suddenly without a word before graduation. Can these hallowed halls reunite them? Find out!
1. Chapter 1

She took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the nerves that were causing her body to shake. She wiped her sweaty palms on the smooth fabric that clung to her thighs so she wouldn't drop the microphone she had just been handed. It was finally her chance to have the duet that would cause her to finally break free from her icy exterior. It was her moment.

The obnoxious ring of an alarm clock echoed throughout the one bedroom apartment. Sharpay sat up in bed with a groan, not ready to start the day. She moved towards the bathroom sleepily. She fumbled to turn on the shower but eventually succeeded in getting a roaring stream going. She stripped out of her comfy pj's and stepped into the welcoming hot water, allowing it to cascade over her head and wake her up. She tried to scrub away the memories of the dream that had been haunting her sleep for years.

She wrapped a fluffy white towel around her body as she exited the shower. She wiped the fog from the mirror then pulled her hair dryer out from beneath the sink. Once it was dry, she decided to let it hang in its natural loose waves and proceeded to apply a minimal amount of make-up to her flawless skin. With her beauty routine complete, she headed to her closet to pick out today's outfit. She decided on a black high-waisted pencil skirt and a silk black and white blouse to be topped off with a pair of peep-toe mary jane pumps.

Sharpay was greeted by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee as she entered her kitchen. She poured the steaming liquid into a thermos then grabbed her purse, tote bag and car keys and headed out the door to start another day as the drama teacher at East High.

She pulled her silver Lexus convertible into her spot in the East High parking lot, having traded in her pink Mustang a while ago. Making her way to the glass entrance doors was easy because it was still early and very few students were in the building. She walked past the main office and greeted the receptionist, "Morning Marcie!"

"Oh good morning, Sharpay!" the middle-age woman responded. "We get our new physical education teacher today."

Sharpay leaned on the entrance door. "Right, but it won't be the same without Coach Bolton." She smiled at the brief memory of the man who had led many boys in her class to back-to-back championships.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that dear." Marcie interrupted her thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll just have to wait and meet him later today."

"Oh Marcie, you're no fun." Sharpay gave a fake pout then waved good-bye as she headed to her classroom.

She walked into the empty drama room, placing her belongings on her desk. She walked over to the windows to open the blinds, letting sunlight brighten up the room. This was her life now. Sharpay Evans was the drama and an English teacher at East High, taking over the role of the now retired Ms. Darbus. She couldn't say she was happy, but she couldn't say she was sad either. She lived alone in a one bedroom apartment in downtown Albuquerque. Her parents had moved to Tokyo a few years ago. Ryan was a choreographer for a theater company in New York. He was very busy but always made time for their weekly phone calls. He was a family man as well now. He and his wife, Kelsi, were the proud parents of a six-month old boy named Cameron. Sharpay couldn't wait for Christmas to arrive so she could go visit her godchild again.

Lost in thoughts of her nephew, she didn't hear a couple of her homeroom students enter the classroom. "Good morning, Ms. Evans" greeted Shanye Murphy, president of the drama club.

"Oh good morning, Shayne. I didn't realize it was almost time for the day to start." She took a seat at her desk and watched the students stroll into the classroom.

As she took a head count, she noticed one student was missing. Just as she was about to mark him absent, Reed Douglas came skidding into the classroom in an attempt to slow himself down from his sprint down the hallway. The final bell rang as he took his seat.

"You just made it, Reed." Sharpay said warningly. She had a problem with him frequently showing up late and was going to discuss it with the principal later that day.

"Sorry Ms. Evans." Reed gasped as he tried to get his breath back.

"You should really consider the trying out for the track team. I'm sure they'd love you for the 100 meter dash."

"Basketball is more my sport." He responded cockily.

"Of course it is," mumbled Shayne under her breath. Unfortunately for her, Reed heard it since he was sitting right next to her. He stuck out his tongue in retort.

Sharpay rolled her eyes remembering when she was their age and how she acted with a certain blue-eyed boy as the morning announcements came over the loudspeaker.

"Excuse me, Ms. Evans?"

Sharpay looked up from her grade book. "Yes, Reed?"

"I noticed on the basketball try-outs sheet that Coach Bolton was still listed. Is he coming back?"

"I'm afraid not, Reed. It was probably just a minor error."

"Oh." Reed's face fell as he resumed talking with his friends.

Sharpay felt bad letting the basketball players in her homeroom down. She knew how much they loved the coach. The entire school adored him. Especially Sharpay, he was so sweet to her when she was a student, and he pretty much adopted her as his daughter when she became a teacher. At that point, her entire family had left Albuquerque so Coach Bolton insisted that she have weekly dinners with him and his wife. She didn't have parents in the country and their only son was in North Carolina so they created their own little family. Sadly Coach Bolton suffered a heart attack about two months ago, forcing him to retire from his beloved Wildcat team.

Sharpay sighed as the bell rang. She could tell it was going to be a long day, and it was only first period. The afternoon's faculty meeting couldn't come soon enough.

After teaching four English classes and two drama classes, Sharpay was ready for the day to be over. However, she still had the faculty meeting to attend. Looking at the clock, she realized she had five minutes to get to the faculty lounge. Sharpay grabbed her notepad off her desk that contained her memos for the upcoming musical and headed off, locking her classroom door behind her.

Sharpay was one of the last teachers to arrive. She took the nearest empty seat next to Mr. Drake, the computer science teacher. A quick glance around the room indicated that the new gym teacher had yet to arrive. She assumed they would arrive with Principal Henderson.

As soon as she thought his name, Principal Henderson walked through the door alone. No one noticed the tall man slink into the back and lean against the wall.

"Alright everyone let's get down to business." The principal took his seat at the front of the room.

The various department heads took turns mentioning their plans for the coming semester. The majority of plans were the same as every year. Biology was starting out with basic cells; Chemistry was starting with the periodic table and so on and so on.

Sharpay had tuned out and had to be nudged by Mr. Drake when it was her turn. She got up a bit flustered to address the group. "After careful discussion with the drama club, this year's winter musical will be a piece that East High never performed." Sharpay looked around the room to make sure everyone was listening. "We will putting on Anastasia. Auditions will be held in two weeks." Sharpay took her seat.

"Thank you, Ms. Evans." Principal Henderson cleared his throat as he stood up. "And now I'd like to introduce our new phys ed and basketball coach. He's an alumni and legend here at East High, Mr. Troy Bolton." He gestured to the back of the room to the man leaning against the wall.

Sharpay's palms started sweating and her heart rate sped up when Troy stepped forward. He was taller and even more built than he was in high school. His hair was the same sandy brown color, but it was shorter, though it still fell into his eyes, the eyes that Sharpay imagined getting lost in for hours while in high school. They were the same crystal blue that melted many hearts. Sharpay panicked a bit when she realized those blue eyes were staring at her.

She didn't even realize that a majority of teachers had already left the room. She was basically in the lounge alone with Troy except for the math teachers who always lingered around waiting to see if they could pick up any gossip.

Hoping to not be the subject of their gossip pool, Sharpay grabbed her notepad and headed out the door towards her classroom. She walked so quickly, she didn't notice the tall figure following her. She collapsed in her desk chair with a heavy sigh. "Holy crap, Troy Bolton?" she questioned out loud. "This cannot be happening."

"What can't be happening?"

Sharpay looked up startled by the booming voice. Troy was standing in the doorway looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, uh," Sharpay looked down hoping to find an answer, "I got a scuff mark on my new shoes." She shrugged her shoulders sheepishly.

"I guess that can happen when you're rushing down the hallway trying to avoid someone." Troy entered the classroom that once served as his homeroom for two consecutive years and leaned against his old desk.

"I wasn't trying to avoid anyone." She tried to keep her voice calm but wavered on her last word. She knew Troy would be able to see right through her.

"That's not the impression I got. I tried to approach you to say hi and catch up, but you ran off before I could even get a word out. If I didn't know any better, I would guess you aren't very happy to see me."

"I just really want to get out of here." She stood up, placing her purse and tote on her desk. "It's been a very long day, and I still have to come up with the rest of my lesson plans for the week." She glanced up and was met by his piercing gaze. She hoped she had given a good enough excuse to avoid any further questioning. It was only wishful thinking.

Troy noticed the only item that would make her excuse plausible lying on her desk. "Then you better make sure you don't leave your lesson book behind. Though I'm probably right in assuming that your plans for this week's classes are complete, and you're just looking for a way to leave here in a hurry again. Why won't you talk to me Sharpay?" His eyes were pleading with hers.

Sharpay felt her exterior melting to his puppy dog eyes. His appearance had been such a surprise, she couldn't help but be a bit hesitant. "It's just," she paused, "it's been a long time, Troy. I haven't heard from you in six years."

Troy hung his head low. "I see your point." He stood upright and turned to leave.

Sharpay was not about to let him walk away thinking that she wanted nothing to do with him. "Troy?" His name came out more like a question than an exclamation, but he stopped all the same. "Don't go," she sighed.

"Are you willing to hear me out?"

"Maybe someday, but right now I just want to catch up with an old friend." She placed her purse on her shoulder and swung her tote back and forth in her hand.

Troy smiled a hopeful smile. "Want to go grab dinner somewhere?"

Sharpay was about to agree when she remembered she already had plans for the evening meal. "Oh, tonight I was supposed to resume my weekly dinners with your parents since your dad is back from rehab. Can we grab dinner together another night and just head over to the house right now?"

"Yeah, um, about that." Troy rubbed his hand over his neck nervously. "You see…my parents don't know I'm in town."

Sharpay was floored. How could the Boltons not know their only son had moved back home again? "But you took over your dad's old job."

"Look, I know it sounds really crazy, but I just got back to Albuquerque two days ago. I haven't been able to get back until now."

Sharpay opened her mouth to ask questions but was cut off.

"It's a really long story that has to do with hearing me out. There is a very good reason why I left six years ago and never came back, but it's something I need to discuss with my parents first."

"You can tell me when the time is right. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Sharpay glanced around her classroom indicating it was her life now. "As for your parents, I really think it's time you see them. You should especially let your dad know that the Bolton coaching legacy has not ended at East High, and that team may actually stand a chance this year."

Troy snorted slightly at Sharpay's reference to how badly the basketball team had done since the team he had played on graduated.

"So we'll head over to the house then?"

"I guess there's no time like the present. I've only been putting it off for six years."

Troy walked out first so Sharpay could lock the classroom door behind them. As they made their way to the parking lot, Sharpay noticed her car was the only one left. "Did you park your car somewhere else?" She glanced in the direction of the student lot as she opened the car.

"I took the bus." Troy opened the passenger door. "I don't own a car at the moment." He sat down and immediately began admiring the interior of the Lexus. "Nice car," he commented.

"Thanks." Sharpay pulled out of the lot, heading in the direction of the Bolton house, which was only a few blocks from the school.

"You traded in the pink Mustang then?"

"Yeah, I had to give it up in order to get this as my college graduation present. It was definitely a small sacrifice to make for the beauty I get to drive now." A hint of bragging echoed in her voice. A moment later she was pulling into the driveway of 2414 Spring Road.

Troy's shoulders tensed once the car was in park, but he still followed Sharpay up the front steps of his childhood home. Sharpay couldn't help giggling at his surprise when she merely opened the front door and walked right in. He followed behind at a safe distance, unsure of how his parents would react to seeing him again.

"Sharpay, is that you dear?" came Mrs. Bolton's sing-song voice from the kitchen.

"Yes, Lucy! Do you need help with anything?" Sharpay placed her bags on the sofa while kicking off her shoes. She had spent too many hours in the painful heels.

"No, but could you please check on Jack in the garage? God only knows what kind of trouble he's getting into."

"Of course." Sharpay looked in the direction of Troy who was still standing in the foyer. "Just so you know Luce, I brought a guest for dinner. I hope you don't mind."

Troy gave her a freaked out look. He didn't want his presence to be known yet.

"You know the more the merrier, dear." Lucy came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron and primping her hair trying to make herself look nice for the "guest." She gasped in shock, placing a hand over her racing heart when she caught sight of her son lurking in the doorway. "Troy, is that you?" Her voice quivered as she choked back tears.

"Hi, Mom." Troy took a few steps into the living room so his mother could see him. He was afraid to get any closer not knowing if she was crying tears of anger or happiness.

"After six years you're going to just stand there and look at me? I'm your mother! Get over here and give me a hug!" Lucy demanded.

Troy happily closed the distance between himself and his mother. Since he was much bigger height-wise, he ended up engulfing her in his arms. He gladly accepted the sloppy kiss she placed on his cheek, not caring that it left lipstick marks behind.

Sharpay found herself a bit misty eyed as she watched the mother-son reunion. She figured it would be best to do as Lucy asked and check on Jack so they could be alone together. She quietly slipped out the back door.

A loud curse from Jack caused her to walk a bit faster towards the garage. There was a loud clanking of metal as she opened the door. Looking down, she saw that she had just missed being hit with a wrench. Jack was leaning over the open hood of the old classic Mustang he had bought years ago as a high school graduation gift for his son. After six years, it still wasn't running.

"Something wrong, Jack?" Sharpay inquired as she entered the garage.

He looked up and smiled. "Sharpay, I didn't hear you come in. Did you just get here?"

"Pretty much. Lucy sent me out here to check on you."

"Am I doing anything I shouldn't be doing?" He gave her a grin that could get him away with murder. Troy had inherited the same cheesy Cheshire smile.

"Not that I can see." Sharpay pretended to look past the open car hood. "Though I might change shirts before you head inside." She pointed to the grease stain in the middle of his white t-shirt then headed over to the bottom drawer of his tool box where he kept a supply of t-shirts in every color so his wife would never know he was tinkering with the car. Sharpay had actually given him the idea a few years ago.

"Thanks, sweetie." He accepted the shirt with a smile. "I'll change before I head in. I just need to put things away in here. I'm assuming dinner will be on the table in a few minutes?"

"You can take your time. Lucy was talking to the guest I brought when I came out here."

"Did you finally get yourself a boyfriend?" Jack asked with mock horror, though he really would be saddened if Sharpay brought a guy around.

"No, it's the new basketball coach."

"My replacement, huh?"

"I think you'll like him."

"We'll see. Speaking of basketball coaches, did you know the school had my name printed on the try-out fliers? I saw it yesterday when I went to drop off the gym key with Principal Henderson." Jack shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, the basketball players in my homeroom were very disappointed when I broke it the news to them that it wasn't you who was running try-outs."

"I can't believe they made a mistake like that."

"It actually wasn't a mistake."

"There's a new Coach Bolton?" Jack asked surprised.

"Yeah, Dad, me." Troy leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest acting completely casual.

Jack dropped the screwdriver he was holding. It landed on the floor dangerously close to Sharpay's left foot.

Sharpay immediately ran to his side afraid Troy's entrance had possibly given the man another heart attack.

Troy, realizing his mistake, rushed to his father as well. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Of course he's not you idiot!" Sharpay smacked his bicep and ended up getting more hurt than he did since it was solid muscle. "Ow!" She shook her hand to get rid of the stinging that was running through her palm.

"You should know better than to smack a basketball player in the arm, Sharpay." Jack said warningly. He had come out of his state of shock and appeared to be perfectly fine.

"You okay, Dad?" Troy asked again.

"I'm fine, son. You just gave me a bit of a shock that's all." He patted Troy's shoulder reassuringly.

"Why don't we get you inside anyways, Jack. I'm sure dinner is ready by now." Sharpay suggested while still shaking her hand. She looked to Troy for support.

"Yeah, mom said to come get you two." Troy agreed.

"Alright, I guess I can clean up this mess later. Sharpay, you better put some ice on that hand when we get inside."

Troy and his father chuckled, while Sharpay glared. She wanted to hit Troy again, but figured that it would be pointless so she just followed father and son into the house that was filled with the aroma of Lucy's home cooking.

Dinner was uneventful. Everyone spent the majority of the time eating and not talking, a typical meal in the Bolton household, though the grease stain on Jack's shirt didn't go unnoticed by Lucy.

Once dessert was finished and Jack and Troy did the dishes, Sharpay and Troy decided to head out since they had work the following morning. Sharpay walked out first hugging Lucy then Jack before heading out the door. Troy was right behind her, promising Lucy he would be over again tomorrow and the day after. Jack followed Troy out onto the porch where Sharpay was descending the steps. As he pulled his son into a hug, he whispered, "You found her?"

Troy nodded his head yes, and Jack nodded in acknowledgement. He yelled, "Drive safely!" to Sharpay while Troy joined her in the car. She smiled and waved then backed out of the driveway and onto the street. She was very curious as to who "her" was. Was that the reason explaining Troy's disappearance? She wanted to ask but chose to remain quiet, knowing Troy would tell her when he felt the time was right.

**A/N I do not own HSM or its characters. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.**

**This was an idea I had, and I had to get it written down. So is it good? Bad? Let me know in a review!!**

**Thanks!**

**LoveIsLost29**


	2. Chapter 2

**Due to the amazing response I got on this story after just one chapter, I decided it would be a great idea to give everyone the next chapter. The reviews were wonderful, and a ton of thanks to all those who left one. This chapter is for you guys!! Enjoy!!! And as always please review at the end ********.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or the movie Anastasia from which I'm borrowing a few songs.**

Since there were limited people signed up to audition for the musical, Sharpay decided she would require all of her drama students to audition. She was not looking forward to making the announcement to her senior class.

Once the bell rang, Sharpay stood up ready to get the news out sooner than later. "Alright everyone, before we get started today, I have a brief announcement to make." Only a few pairs of eyes had their attention directed on her. "Due to lack of interest in the winter musical, I am requiring all drama students to audition a week from today."

The reaction was exactly what she had feared. The members of the drama club gasped in horror, while the basketball players and cheerleaders groaned.

"Excuse me, Ms. Evans?" Shayne Murphy's hand shot up.

"Yes, Shayne." Sharpay put on a fake smile pretending to be interested though she knew what the drama club president was going to suggest.

"Is it really fair to make people audition? Won't it just make your job harder by having to watch more people?"

"I appreciate your concern for my workload, but Principal Henderson wants more variety in our productions. This is the only way to force that variety."

"But Ms. Evans," Reed Douglas interjected, "Shayne has made an excellent point for the first time ever."

Shayne shot a glare in his direction. Reed chose to ignore it and continue.

"None of us from the team would be in the right state of mind to audition. It would really be a waste of your time."

"And why would none of you be in the right state of mind?" Sharpay countered.

"Because basketball try-outs are also a week from today; we'll all be focused on making the team, not the musical, and I'm pretty sure there is a time conflict as well." Reed lied on the last part. He was hoping Sharpay wouldn't know that.

However, being good friends with the basketball coach definitely had its perks. "Reed I can assure you there will be no time conflict. Auditions are at 3:30 right after school, and try-outs are at 5:00."

Reed sunk lower into his seat, disappointed that he couldn't get out of auditioning. He didn't notice that Shayne had also sunk down to the same position.

"Now if there aren't any more protests, we'll get on with today's lesson." Sharpay picked up a stack of monologues and began passing them out.

* * *

Troy was sitting in his office munching on a sandwich when Reed came bursting in. "Coach Bolton, you have got to help us!"

Troy immediately sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Ms. Evans is forcing the entire basketball team to audition for the stupid musical!"

The look of distress on the teenager's face caused Troy to stifle a laugh. He had been at the impromptu faculty meeting that morning and knew that Henderson was forcing Sharpay to get more people to audition. He was also aware that she was planning to make her drama classes fill the void by making it a requirement that is why he pushed basketball try-outs back to early evening. "Reed, I can't make Ms. Evans change her class curriculum. All of you are going to have to audition."

"But Coach," Reed pleaded, "then we'll be rushing from auditions in the theater to the gym on the other side of the school."

"Then you won't have to waste time warming up." The look of dumbfoundness on Reed's face told Troy that he didn't get the joke. "How about I ask Ms. Evans to allow you guys to audition first? Then you'll have plenty of time to get from the theater to the gym."

"You can't get her to change her mind all together?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Fine." Reed groaned, picking up his backpack from the floor.

"Hey Reed?"

The basketball captain hopeful paused, turning his body only slightly to show some form of respect to his future coach.

"Try and have fun with it. Musicals aren't all that bad."

"Yeah, right." He snorted.

"I'm speaking from experience."

Reed's eyes lit up with shock. "That story is true? I thought Ms. Evans was just saying that so we would stop complaining in her class."

"You might want to give her more credit."

"Thanks, Coach." Reed strutted out of the room, shaking his head. "Troy Bolton, basketball captain and theater geek?" He thought quietly to himself.

* * *

After Reed's surprise visit, Troy figured it would be a good idea to go talk to Sharpay before free period ended. A quick glance in her dark classroom showed she wasn't there so he decided to look in the theater, thinking she might be preparing for auditions or meeting with the drama club.

He could hear a melody coming from the theater. As he got closer, he realized it was a familiar tune. He went in through the stage door, knowing that's where the piano was located. Sharpay's voice filled the theater when he walked in. He closed the door carefully behind him so it wouldn't disturb her and cause her to stop. He lurked near the curtain just listening.

"_**We were strangers  
Starting out on a journey  
Never dreaming  
What we'd have to go through  
Now here we are  
And I'm suddenly standing  
At the beginning with you" **_

Troy definitely knew he recognized the song when Sharpay finished the first verse. He started applauding and joined her at center stage.

Sharpay turned around startled. She thought she had been alone in the theater until she heard clapping. She smiled when she saw Troy's tall frame emerging from the shadows of the curtain. "You scared me for a minute."

"Sorry," Troy put on an innocent smile, "I just wanted to hear you sing."

"Did you recognize the song?" Sharpay stood up and began gathering the music sheets that she had scattered all over the piano.

Troy walked over, picking up a few sheets that had fallen to the floor. "It's the duet we were supposed to sing at graduation." His eyes showed remorse as he handed her the spare papers.

"Yeah," she sighed sadly as she remembered that day.

_Sharpay was pacing backstage. "Where's Troy?" she asked Ryan nervously._

"_Maybe he's still climbing over the people in his row." Ryan suggested, hoping to calm his twin's nerves._

"_He was in the front row. There's no one to climb over!" she whined._

_Suddenly there was a swish in the curtains. Sharpay turned around expectantly, but her face fell when Coach Bolton emerged looking grim. "He's not coming." She stated rather than asked._

"_He's gone, Sharpay." The coach replied solemnly. "Lucy went to wake him up this morning, but she found his bed empty. There was a note on his desk saying that he had left. He didn't say where, and he didn't say when he'll be back. I was hoping he had changed his mind. That's why I came back here."_

"_Troy's gone?" Sharpay whimpered._

"_I'm afraid so." Jack gave her a hug then went back out to sit with the faculty._

_Sharpay stood still with her lip quivering. She didn't know how to react._

_Her silence and stillness scared Ryan. He rushed to her side and pulled her into a tight embrace. "It's okay, sis. I'll sing with you."_

"_Oh Ryan!" She broke down in sobs, no longer able to control her tears. However, five minutes later she regained her composure feeling the show had to go on. _

_She and Ryan took the stage, sung their hearts out and no one questioned the Evan's twins singing the final number or the disappearance of Troy Bolton._

Sharpay was snapped out of her daze by Troy's voice. "I'm really sorry about disappearing that day. I know I let you down, but I had to leave."

Sharpay only nodded. "I know." She didn't push for any more information. She still knew it wasn't the right time. "So what brings you to the theater?" She was hoping a change of subject would lighten the mood.

"I was looking for you actually."

"Did the basketball players get to you?"

"Reed pretty much came storming into my office begging me to convince you to let them off the hook."

Sharpay laughed. "What did you say?"

"I told him he had to audition and he should try to make the best of it."

"Thank you."

"But I do have one favor to ask."

"What's that?" Sharpay was pretty much willing to help Troy with anything now since he had been so helpful with her auditions. Changing the try-out time and now telling the team they had to audition still was such a relief.

"Could you let the guys trying out audition first so they could still have time to get ready before the try-outs?"

"Sure, that won't be a problem."

"Thanks."

The bell ringing caused both teachers to jump in alarm. They both had classes to teach this coming period and couldn't be late.

* * *

After what felt like a million more complaints about the change in auditions from both the drama club and basketball team, Sharpay was ready to go home and soak in a bubble bath. Unfortunately she had already promised Troy that she would help him move his stuff into his parents' house that evening since he didn't have a car and Lucy had to drive Jack to a doctor's appointment.

When Sharpay let it slip it to Lucy yesterday during a phone call that Troy's apartment was actually a cheap hotel room, Lucy called her son and demanded that he move home immediately. She even played the "I could really use the help with your father card;" though Jack was doing very well.

Troy didn't bother protesting. He knew that being gone for six years put a bit of a damper on his relationship with his parents, and moving back in with them could help resolve that problem. He also could barely afford to stay at the run down hotel with the little money he had saved up. His teaching salary could go much farther if he didn't have living expenses to worry about. He could also stop taking the bus and either walk to the school or buy himself a nice used car. His final reason for moving was his mom's home cooking and the free laundry service he would receive on a weekly basis.

Arriving at Troy's soon-to-be former home, Sharpay was surprised when Troy told her to stay in the car.

He returned a few minutes later carrying his old basketball duffle bag. It was worn and tattered with age. Sharpay could not fathom how he had lived out of that for such a long time. "Is that it?" she asked in surprise.

Troy glanced at the bag sheepishly as he placed it in the back seat. "Um yeah, you can't really pack a lot when you leave in a hurry."

"So you've been living out of one bag for six years?" Her voice was filled with disbelief.

"I had more at one point. Then things changed, and it was back to the handy dandy duffle bag."

"You should order yourself a new one when you order the team bags."

Troy chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. Hey, wanna pick them out for me? I have to place the order soon."

"I'll pick out the bags if you help out with set building for the musical."

"Why do I have a feeling I don't have a choice?"

"Because you don't." Sharpay pulled into the Bolton driveway with a smug smirk.

Troy got of the car and grabbed his bag. "So you staying for dinner tonight or what?" he asked when he noticed her still sitting in the car buckled in.

"Nope. Since there's nothing to move I'm going home and relaxing."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Sharpay waved and reversed out of the driveway.

* * *

Sharpay soaked in her bubble bath with the basketball equipment catalog Troy had deliberately left in her car. Flipping to the duffel bags, she found there were two selections, both of which were incredibly dull and boring. Glancing at the order form as she turned the page, she saw that you could submit a custom design. The wheels began turning in her head as she thought all sorts of ideas for the team bags.

She cut her bath short, and changed into a pair of comfy pajamas. She poured herself a glass of wine then curled up on the sofa with a sketch pad and the catalog. Not many people knew that Sharpay double majored in education and fashion design.

Keeping in mind that these bags were for teenage boys and the budget Troy kindly jotted in the margin of the page, she drew out several ideas.

Twenty minutes of sketching later, Sharpay had the duffle bags. They would primarily be red with white stripes at the zip pockets on both ends. The top flap would say "East High Wildcats" with a picture of the team mascot beneath it. Below the flap would be the team member's last name and jersey number. She did "Bolton" with "Coach" as her example. All the writing would be white with black outlining.

With the bags done, Sharpay decided to design the team sweats as well. Troy would not believe the monster he created when he saw these sketches.

* * *

Once dinner was over, Jack beckoned Troy to meet him in the garage. It took Troy longer to get there since he was moving a bit slower thanks to forced three heaping helpings of Lucy's chicken noodle casserole.

Jack was leaning against the old Mustang, whistling and twirling the keys around his index finger.

"What are you doing, Dad?" Troy entered the garage skeptically, knowing his dad was up to something.

"I was thinking you're going to need a car to get around now that you're back home."

"Yeah, I was thinking I'd save for a new used one."

"No need for that when there's one right here." Jack patted the hood of the red car before tossing the keys to Troy.

"Ha ha, very funny." Troy tossed the keys back. "Like you would let me drive your pride and joy."

"I believe it's your pride and joy." Jack tossed the keys back and Troy caught them in mid-air. "I bought this car for you, son. It was supposed to be your graduation present, but you never gave me the chance to give it to you."

"I hurt you guys pretty bad when I left, didn't I?" Troy questioned solemnly.

"Your mom was crushed. She thought she failed you in some way. Me on the other hand, I knew why you left. I just wish you hadn't run away. And we both wish that you had walked at graduation, we really wanted to see you get your diploma."

"I am really sorry."

"You had every right to go looking for Heather. You were eighteen. Your mother and I couldn't stop you. We're just glad you're home now."

"I didn't mean to be gone this long. It's just once she got sick, I had to stay. I couldn't leave her alone."

"It's fine. As your parents, we understand why you did it, and we are so proud of you for being a man about the whole situation. We were just afraid you might end up blaming us." Jack glanced towards the cement floor.

"I would never blame you guys. You're my parents."

"You should tell that to your mother too."

"I've been saying that every day, though I'm sure it will take awhile to settle in."

"That's your mom for you. Now what do you say we go take this baby for a spin?" Jack gave the car a tap.

Troy gladly sprinted to the driver's seat, while Jack slipped in the passenger's. He had been itching to drive the car since his dad handed over the keys.

"Before we go, I do have one more thing to say." Jack said with a bit of warning.

Troy looked at him, waiting to see what it would be.

"You still owe Sharpay a duet. You left her hanging. Don't do it again." Jack used a pointed finger for emphasis.

"I don't plan on it."

"She's a keeper you know."

Troy pretended not to hear the last sentence over the revving of the engine. His dad had always hoped that they would be more than just friends someday and so did Troy.

**Just to clear up any confusion "Heather" = "her". The rest of will be explained as the story continues.**

**Again thanks to all those who reviewed. You guys are the reason why this chapter got posted so fast. It was great motivation. So please review once again!! It means a lot!!**

**Thank you so much!**

**LoveIsLost29**


	3. Chapter 3

**Again I got a great number of wonderful reviews! Thank you so much guys!! It means a lot!!! This next chapter will definitely make the Troypay fans happy!!**

**Disclaimer: I of course do not own HSM. **

The slamming of books on his desk caused coffee to splatter on the pages of his dad's ancient playbook and forced Troy to look up from his reading. Sharpay was standing before him with a huge grin of accomplishment on her face.

"I picked out the duffel bags."

Troy stared at her incredulously. "You risked ruining a play book just to tell me that?"

"No," Sharpay flipped open the sketchbook that was on top of the pile, "I came to show you the team's Sharpay Evans' custom designed athletic wear." She pointed to the top page that contained the duffel bags.

Troy glanced at the colored sketch in front of him. He was amazed at the detail she had put in. He never knew she could design; too bad there was no way the budget would allow it. "This is really cool, Shar, but there's no way the team can afford this."

"Oh yes you can. I checked out the pricing with the company this morning. There will even be money left over in the budget. Plus the only thing the school pays for are the bags. The boys have to pay for their uniforms and sweats, which I have also taken the liberty to draw up." She turned to the next page so he could view the sweats. "I kept it pretty simple. Just a basic pant in white with red stripes along the snaps on the leg though I decided to go a little retro with the jackets."

"These look like the ones from senior year."

"Because that's what they'll resemble. I updated the Wildcat a bit, but other than that it's the same jacket." Sharpay replied with a shoulder shrug.

"You remember what they looked like?" Troy raised his eyebrow in a bit of confusion.

"Of course not," Sharpay rolled her eyes as if the answer were obvious. "I have your old jacket. You gave it to me at some point, and I never gave it back."

"Oh. Are the uniforms next?" Troy turned to the next page. His eyes widened with amazement at Sharpay's work. "These are really good."

"Thanks, I also had to keep those simple since it is a high school team. I thought our lettering was pretty outdated on the current uniforms so I changed that, and again I updated the mascot. Then I drew them in both colors since they'll need home and away jerseys."

"You just made my job so much easier." Troy went to close the book.

"No don't!" Sharpay placed her hand over his. The electric jolt she felt caused her to pull away quickly. "There's still more." She indicated for him to turn the page as she bit her lip nervously.

Troy also felt the electric jolt. He just wished it had lasted longer than a millisecond. He decided to act like nothing happened, figuring Sharpay didn't feel it. "More? Shar, you can't charge the team too much money."

"Don't worry I got a great rate." She waved him off. "And no, it's what normal people consider great." She added after receiving a look of disbelief from Troy. "You have to see your special coaching jackets."

"You designed for me?" Troy was afraid to look down at the page but did it anyways. He was glad he did because he liked what he saw.

"I went with a jacket for practices and to wear around school. It's sort of like the team's, but a little different. It's made of better material for one, and I left off a hood. But if you want I could add it on. Then I also designed a jacket for you to wear at the games. You obviously can't order it from the company, but I can make it for you. Only if you want of course." Sharpay let out a huge breath after rambling about the jackets.

Troy found her nervousness cute. He felt lucky that she had even thought of him. "This is really cool. You making me a suit jacket would be awesome. I don't really have the money to go out and buy a good one for this season. It would really help me out a lot. It also means a lot to me Sharpay. You didn't have to do any of this."

Sharpay was flattered by his compliments. In fact she felt her heart flutter a bit when he looked her in the eyes. She was also thrilled he was agreeing to let her make the jacket. "It really wasn't a big deal. I'm glad I finally got to put my fashion degree to good use. I had fun. Think you can convince the other coaches to let me redesign their teams' uniforms?" She gave a semi flirtatious smile.

"I don't think I'll have to do much convincing on my part once they see the team wearing their new uniforms on the court."

Sharpay just happened to glance at the clock as Troy smiled his heart-stopping grin. The time revealed she only had ten minutes until her next class. "Crap, I better get going. I have an English class to teach. I'll see you later." She started walking out of Troy's office.

"Shar?"

She paused in the doorway that would lead to the empty boys' locker room. "Yeah?"

"Meet me for lunch?" His eyes were nearly pleading.

Sharpay smiled as his cuteness and desperation. "Sure, where at?"

"Just meet me by the gym doors after your class."

"Alright, I'll see you soon then." She walked to her classroom with a giddy bounce in her step. She would skip down the hall if she weren't twenty-three and a teacher.

* * *

The sight of Troy leaning against the wall whistling and twirling his keys around his index finger brought back memories of their high school days as Sharpay approached him. Once a week they would take advantage of the senior privilege of off-campus lunch with just the two of them and ignore the teenage social standards that said they couldn't be friends. Troy would drive to the edge of town to a small diner, where they used to go every Sunday as kids with their parents. They sat in the same booth every time and ordered the same meals. Troy would get a cheeseburger, fries and a vanilla shake. Sharpay would get the turkey club, onion rings and a chocolate shake. They would always spilt they're sides in half and trade. Then they would laugh and make fun of each other until one of them realized they had ten minutes to get back to school. That's when the real fun would be begin. They'd make a mad dash for the truck, Troy would drive like a madman, and then they would sprint to their biology class. Their butts would hit the chairs of their desks as the bell rang, causing life as they knew it to resume.

"So where are we going?"

Sharpay's sing-song voice brought Troy out of his daze. He had been remembering their lunch adventures too. "I think I have an idea." Troy gave her a wink and proceeded to walk out towards the parking lot expecting her to follow.

Sharpay followed eagerly. She wanted to know where she had to drive to, but that thought was immediately replaced by a question when she saw Troy approach a car that looked like the Mustang that was sitting in the Boltons' garage.

"Are you gonna get in or just stand there?" Troy looked at her over the top of the sunglasses that had suddenly appeared on his face.

Sharpay carefully slid into the passenger side of the two-seater convertible since she was wearing a skirt.

"So you like my graduation present?"

"It's yours?"

"Yeah, apparently my dad was fixing it up to give to me."

"Well that's cool. Are you gonna tell me where we're going now?"

Troy made a left onto the main road and ignored her question. As they got closer to the edge of downtown Albuquerque, it dawned on Sharpay that he was taking them to the diner. "Sal's?" She asked excitedly as Troy pulled into the parking lot.

"I'm surprised you didn't guess it sooner."

"Wow I haven't been here…"

Troy finished her sentence, "in six years."

Upon entering the diner, they were hit with the mouth-watering smell of greasy food cooking away in the fryer. Their usual booth was open so they slid in, sitting on the same sides they always did. Neither one bothered looking at the menu that was tucked behind the napkin dispenser; they knew what they were getting. When the waitress took their order, Troy ordered his cheeseburger and Sharpay ordered her turkey club.

The food was on the table after a very short wait. Before digging in to the delicious sandwiches, they spilt the fries and onion rings in half and traded. No conversation took place while they were eating. Both were starving, and they pretty much shoveled the food into their mouths only taking an occasional break to sip their milkshakes.

"That was so good," Troy sighed, happily full as he pushed his empty plate to the edge of the table.

"Yes it was," Sharpay agreed, "but now I'll have to run an additional five miles to work it all off."

"You workout?" the surprise was clear in his voice.

"Duh, I've got to keep my figure somehow."

"The Sharpay Evans I knew doesn't believe in sweating."

"Well that Sharpay Evans gained the freshman twenty and had to work very hard to lose it."

"I didn't have that problem my freshman year. Basketball kept me fit and still does." Troy ran his hands down his abs.

Sharpay had to erase the thought of running her hands over those six pack abs from her mind. She decided to focus on a less steamy topic. "So you did go to college then?"

Troy slurped the last of his milkshake noisily before answering. "Oh yeah. I still went to UNC like I planned. I just left a lot earlier than necessary. You went to UCLA, right?"

"Yeah, I was gonna continue living in California too, but when Darbus told me she was retiring and wanted me to take her place, I couldn't pass the position up. Sadly my parents decided to move to Tokyo at the same time and with Ryan in New York, I was alone. If it weren't for your parents, I wouldn't have any family here." Sharpay replied a bit sadly due to the mention of her absent family.

"How is Ryan doing?"

"He's actually married to Kelsi, and they have a little boy. His name is Cameron. He's six months." Sharpay rummaged through her purse for her wallet. She pulled out several pictures of her darling nephew. "Here he is." She handed the photos to Troy.

He flipped through them. "Wow, he looks just like Ryan."

"Yeah, he's so adorable. I can't wait for Christmas so I can see him again."

Troy smiled softly when he got to a picture of Sharpay holding Cameron. She looked so happy. "I bet you keep him very spoiled."

"Of course," she took the pictures back from him, "he's my godson. It's my job."

"I'm sure Ryan and Kelsi greatly appreciate it too."

"Someone has to keep their kid fashionable."

"I guess."

"So here's a really random question. What did you study at UNC? You had to do something else besides play basketball, right?"

"I studied sports management. I figured if I didn't get drafted into the NBA I could hopefully coach a professional team someday. Maybe coaching the East High team will be a good start."

"You never know." Sharpay replied cheerily.

"What about you? Where do you want to be someday?" Troy countered.

"Well," Sharpay paused to think, "I really want to be a fashion designer. I want to have my own label one day."

"If you design everyday clothes like you did the team uniforms, then you'll have no problem achieving it."

"I also wouldn't mind making red carpet gowns for the Oscars either."

Going to stretch Troy caught a glimpse of his watch. "Oh shit!"

"What?" Sharpay sat up straight in alarm.

"We have ten minutes to get back!"

"Oh great!" She started rummaging around for her wallet again. "Where is it?"

"Forget about it, I got it." Troy threw money on the table to pay the bill as he stood up. He grabbed Sharpay by the arm and dragged her to the car. He sped off before she even buckled her seat belt. Troy was very grateful that they didn't hit any red lights along the way. The tires of the Mustang came to screeching halt when he pulled into the parking spot next to Sharpay's car. "Ready to run?" He asked with a boyish grin.

"I'm wearing stilettos, Troy." Sharpay gestured to her red pumps.

"Then take them off. Come on, we have three minutes before our classes start!"

Troy took her hand and she used the other one to pick up her favorite heels from the pavement. They sprinted inside, entering through the doors that led to the office.

Marcie, the school secretary, saw the young teachers bolting down the hall to their respective "classrooms." She smiled to herself when she saw how happy they were. "I always knew those two would find their way to each other someday."

* * *

Sharpay tried to regain her composure outside of her classroom door. She had to get her breathing back to a normal rate, and she hoped her face wouldn't look too flushed when she entered the room. She scrunched her nose in disgust when she saw how dirty the bottoms of her feet were. She was not happy about having to risk the insides of her Jimmy Choos getting filthy as she slipped them back on. She walked into her classroom when the bell rang. Her sophomores were too busy socializing to notice she was still trying to catch her breath. "Alright, everyone." Twenty pairs of eyes focused on her. "You can have a study hall. I have a lot of grading to catch up on."

Cheers erupted throughout the classroom. The students knew a study hall was basically a free period to do whatever as long as they stayed in the room and kept the noise at a reasonable level.

Sharpay really did have grading to catch up on. She got so wrapped up in designing last night that she forgot all about the one page essays she had to look over and return to her freshman.

Troy had also decided to give his gym class a free period. He took out the basketballs and volleyballs so the students could play around if they wanted, or they were free to do whatever.

He used the extra time to look over the estimates Sharpay had come up with for the uniforms. He shocked to find that the prices wouldn't be any different than if they were to use the old uniforms. At least he wouldn't have to deal with angry parents in his first month of coaching.

Troy couldn't understand why Sharpay was letting such a strong talent remain stagnant. Obviously she cared for this school a lot more than she had ever let on, and he was determined to find out why.

**Well there you have it. I hope you guys enjoyed it!!! Please review!! It means a lot!!!**

**Thanks,**

**LoveIsLost29**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter is the longest yet so hopefully that makes up for it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I greatly appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM.**

* * *

The day before auditions, Sharpay's homeroom was filled with pleas from many of her senior drama students who were against the mandatory testing of everyone's drama skills. Sharpay could feel a migraine coming on with everyone shouting over each other, especially Shayne and Reed. Noticing homeroom had about two minutes left, she decided to put stop to it. "Alright!" she yelled as she moved her arms dramatically to silence the unruly students. "Enough with the complaining. I'll make you guys a deal." All eyes looked at her eagerly. "The first person who doesn't wish to audition, who can tell me by third period, which musical Coach Bolton and I starred in together will be exempt from audition."

The bell rang with the end of her offer, and all the basketball players bolted towards the gym hoping to find Troy. Sharpay smiled to herself knowing Troy had taken the morning off to take Jack to the doctor's so Lucy could run some errands on her own. He wouldn't come in till after fourth period, long after the deadline. She was thinking she had them all, when Shayne stopped in front of her desk.

"Excuse me, Ms. Evans?"

"Yes?"

"I'm a bit confused." Shayne furrowed her eyebrows together.

"About what?"

"You never starred in a musical with Coach Bolton."

"I haven't?" Sharpay feigned surprise.

"I found a box of old playbills when the drama club had to clean out the prop closet and a lot of them were from when you were a student here. There was only one musical that Troy Bolton starred in, and someone else was the female lead. I believe the name was Gianna Montoya or something."

Sharpay giggled when she realized what name the young girl was trying to say. "Do you mean Gabriella Montez?"

Shayne nodded in acknowledgment. "Yeah, that's it. So how are the basketball players supposed to find an answer?"

Sharpay wondered if she should share the answer with Shayne, but she figured since no one else was around, it would be safe. "Gabriella Montez transferred here in my junior year of high school. She was really nice but very shy. Apparently her mother's job required them to move around a lot so she wasn't very comfortable with making friends or getting involved. Well it just so happened that year, Ms. Darbus forced everyone in acting to audition for the spring musical. It was pretty much the same situation as now. Anyways, Gabriella and Troy got partnered together for the pairs audition by luck of the draw, since no one but my brother and I signed up for the lead roles. Obviously Gabriella and Troy got the leads. However, Gabriella's mom got a last minute transfer, and Gabriella left right before opening night. I was the understudy so I had to takeover, and that is how I starred in a musical with Troy Bolton." Sharpay finished dramatically. She didn't know someone was lurking outside the classroom door.

"That's very sneaky of you, don't you think?" Shayne questioned.

Sharpay shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "No, I think they deserve a good challenge."

"Oh, okay. I better get to class then."

"Shayne, hang on a second." Sharpay grabbed a bright blue sheet of paper from beneath a pile of essays while the drama club president stood waiting. "I noticed you didn't sign up for a role yet." Sharpay turned her body so they could both view the sheet.

"Yes I did." Shayne scanned the long list of names for her own. "I'm right here." She pointed to the section with the greatest number of names. It was titled "Townspeople".

"Oh," Sharpay responded surprised, "you're not going out for a bigger role."

"I really don't think I'm good enough for any other part." Shayne glanced at the floor to avoid eye contact.

"But you've had a role in every other play since I started teaching here, and you're drama club president. Why sell yourself short?"

"I don't know." She pretended to be very interested in her shoes.

"I think you should really consider going out for Anastasia."

Shayne glanced up, her green eyes huge with astonishment. "Really?"

"Of course! You have a strong voice, you're a great presence on stage and you know how to command your audience. You're perfect for the role."

"I still don't know."

"Shayne, do you really want to waste one of your last senior performances on being a chorus member?"

"No, I guess not."

"So we're agreed then? I can put you down for Anastasia?"

"Yes, I'll do it."

"Great! And here's a pass." Sharpay scribbled a quick note excusing Shayne for being late to her next class. "What class are you going to now so I know who to address it to?"

"Calculus."

Sharpay quickly filled in the name of the biggest gossiper on the faculty, Mrs. Crawford. "There you go."

"Thanks, Ms. Evans."

"See you third period, Shayne." Sharpay went back to the signup sheet. She wrote Shayne's name under "Anastasia" in her loopy scrawl. She would be the only girl going out for the role.

* * *

Troy sat in the coffee shop across the street from his dad's doctor's office. He figured it would be a better place to sit and do nothing than in the waiting room that contained boring medical magazines. He was finishing up the last of his tall coffee when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Troy? Troy Bolton?"

Troy turned around, having no clue who could possibly be talking to him. He was very surprised to find Jason Cross looking back at him. Jason had barely changed since high school. He still had the same baby face that could get him away with anything, though he was a few inches taller. His shaggy hair had been replaced by a more stylish crew cut, but other than that it was still the same old Jason.

"I thought it was you." Jason approached the table. "When did you get back in town, man?" He extended his hand.

Troy stood up to shake his hand before being pulled into a hug. "Jason, how's it going?" He sat, indicating for Jason to join him.

Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I can't complain. Things are pretty good right now. I just got engaged last week, and I'm opening my own restaurant. How about you?"

"Well, my life isn't as exciting as yours. I'm back now. I'm living with my parents, and I'm the basketball coach at East High. Congratulations on the engagement and restaurant, man. Who's the lucky lady?"

"Her name is Kaci. I met her my first year of college and we've been together ever since."

"That's really cool."

"What about you? Have you settled down yet?"

Troy snorted. "Did you not hear me say I'm living with my parents? I can't even afford my own place at the moment."

"You were off doing your travel thing. You'll have money saved up in no time." Jason reasoned.

Troy found himself a bit taken aback by Jason's response. He was the only person he encountered so far who didn't seem to be bothered by his quick departure.

"You look a bit confused, Troy."

Troy shook his head to bring himself back. "Sorry, it's just you're the first person who hasn't asked me twenty questions about why I left."

"UNC games were on ESPN. I just figured you left early for basketball camp or something. Though judging by your reaction there's a whole lot more to the story." Jason sipped his coffee with a serious look in his eyes.

Troy was wishing he still had coffee to drink.

When Jason noticed Troy's hesitance, he added, "Not that you have to tell me or anything. So change of subject, you're taking over for the old man, huh?"

"Eh, I guess." Troy replied indifferently.

"Maybe you can finally help this team get to the playoffs. They've stunk since we left."

Troy laughed at the mention of the Wildcats losing streak. "Well, try-outs are tomorrow. I'll let you know if the team looks promising or not. Or better yet, you wanna help me run them?" He didn't bother hiding the hope in his question.

"That would be awesome. I'll be there. Thanks to Kaci, the restaurant is all set to go for Friday's grand opening."

"You're opening this Friday?"

"Yeah, and you better not have plans because your name is going on the VIP list." Jason pointed his index finger for emphasis. "You should bring a date, or I could have Kaci set you up with one of her single friends."

At the mention of date, only one name popped into Troy's head. He was going to ask Sharpay. "No, it's okay. I have someone in mind."

"So there is someone in your life? I guess that leaves Sharpay Evans out of the question. She's actually Kaci's only single friend, and I always thought you two would get together someday even though you pretended to hate each other for the sake of appearances in high school." Jason said in annoyance. He had hung out with Troy and Sharpay when they were all in grade school and everyone knew they were best friends. Then Chad Danforth came along freshman year putting an end to the tight bond for whatever reason.

"At the end of junior year we patched things up." Troy defended. "And we're hanging out now. I was actually going to ask her."

"Oh." Jason gulped his lukewarm coffee to hide his embarrassment for bringing up the bad times. "Cool then. Well, I gotta get back to the restaurant even though there's nothing to do. What time should I get there tomorrow?"

"How about 4:30?" Troy figured that would allow him to watch an hour of auditions before having to set up the gym.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." Jason gave Troy a high five before walking out the door and down the street.

Looking out the window, Troy saw his dad coming out of the doctor's office. He threw his cup in the garbage before heading out the door and jogging across the street to the car.

* * *

Shayne stopped at her locker at the end of second period to trade off books before heading to drama. After closing the metal door, she jumped when she saw Reed leaning against the locker next to hers casually. "You scared the crap out of me, Reed." She placed her hand over her racing heart.

"My gorgeous looks do tend to make the ladies' hearts flutter." He replied cockily without changing his stance.

Shayne instantly regained her cold attitude towards him. "What the hell do you want?" She spun her lock to clear the combination and walked off with her nose in the air before he could answer.

Reed was able to catch up quickly with his long strides. "I know you have the answer to Ms. Evans question." He sped up, getting in front Shayne and cutting her off, forcing her to halt her stride. "Think you could help me out?"

Shayne tucked a stray strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. "Why would I help you after the way you've treated me for the past three years?" Her voice was icy with hate.

"Neither one of us wants me to audition. You giving me the answer would make us both happy. I only have to worry about try-outs, and you'll have your precious musical preserved." Reed reasoned.

Shayne pretended to consider his point. She honestly wanted to see Reed squirm throughout his audition since he could never get through a single dialogue in class without tripping over his words. "Okay."

Reed didn't catch on to the fake cheeriness in her voice. "So what musical was it then?"

"Bye Bye Birdie. Now if you don't mind," Shayne walked around his tall form, "I have a class to get to."

Reed let Shayne get a head start. He didn't want to ruin his image by walking in the room with her at the same time. She was just sliding behind her desk when he crossed the threshold. The bell rang right afterwards.

He tried sneaking to his desk, but Sharpay saw him out of the corner of her eye. "I thought we talked about being in our desks before the bell rang, Reed." Her words were warning, but she had a smile on her face that was hidden by her hair.

"Sorry, Ms. Evans, but I was double-checking the answer to your question from this morning." Reed responded smugly.

"Oh, you did?" Sharpay looked in his direction. "You figured out which musical Coach Bolton and I were the leads in together?" She raised a skeptic eyebrow.

"Yes I did." Reed received a few pats on the back from his basketball friends.

"So what is it?"

"Bye Bye Birdie."

Shayne covered her face with a book to hide her hysteric giggling.

Noticing the red creeping up on Shayne's cheeks, Sharpay figured out that Reed had asked the drama club president for the answer, and she deliberately gave him the wrong one. She was really getting sick of the feud between those two. It reminded her of the way she and Troy acted from freshman to junior year whenever they were in a class together. She actually felt bad letting Reed down since the challenge was her idea in the first place. "I'm sorry Reed, but that's not correct."

"What!" Reed shot a glare in Shayne's direction, who was now openly giggling.

"I'm afraid not." Sharpay showed him sincerity. "Anyone else want to venture a guess?" She figured it was only fair to see if any of the other basketball players had an answer. When no one raised their hand, she started class.

Reed couldn't believe that Shayne was capable of setting him up like this. She had caused him humiliation, and hearing the snickering from his friends, he was going to get even.

Shayne thought revenge felt pretty sweet. She figured auditioning would give Reed a taste of the public humiliation he had caused her numerous times in class, the hallway and the cafeteria. She knew he would try to get even, but at the moment that didn't matter.

* * *

Troy went looking for Sharpay at the end of the school day. He hadn't gotten back to school till the end of free period and hadn't bothered to seek her out during lunch, figuring she was getting the auditions in order for tomorrow. He started with her classroom and was surprised at the way he found her there.

She was sitting on the floor with her feet tucked beneath her bottom, her hair in a messy ponytail, staring at a series of papers spread out all around her. Her heels were abandoned at the side of her desk.

"Knock, knock." Troy said while tapping on the doorframe.

Sharpay looked up, blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face in the process. "Hey." She sounded tired and stressed.

"What's going on here?" He gestured to the mess of papers as he stepped over them so he could sit on her desk.

"I was just getting the audition time slots finished. Don't worry I have the majority of the basketball players going in the first half hour, mainly because they only signed up for chorus." She sighed heavily.

"Speaking of them, is there a reason why they bombarded me with questions about Twinkle Towne during their gym class?"

Sharpay giggled. "Yeah, I got sick of all their complaining this morning so I told them that the first person to name the musical you and I starred in together would be exempt from auditioning."

"I got it now. That was pretty sneaky of you." Troy said in awe. "Did anyone figure it out?"

"No, their deadline was third period."

"So they wouldn't be able to come and seek me out for the answer." Troy quickly caught on to her scheme.

"Exactly. Reed Douglas did venture a guess, but he was way off."

"Of course he would try."

"He went as far as to ask Shayne Murphy for the answer. She set him up for failure." Sharpay began gathering up the papers, being sure to keep them in a specific order.

"They fight in your class too? What is with them? They're always at each other's throats." Troy ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

Sharpay didn't bother looking up from her gathering as she answered. "They've been like that ever since I got here."

Troy took a minute to think about the way he and Sharpay acted throughout their first three years of high school. "Is that how we were?"

"We were worse." There was no tone in her voice. She just spoke it matter of factly.

"But we worked it out." Troy reasoned sticking out his hand to help her up.

"We did." Sharpay accepted his hand, and pulled herself up.

"So are you done here? My dad wants you to come over for dinner tonight." He held up his hand to stop her protest. "And he said auditions tomorrow are not an excuse. You have to eat a good meal."

Sharpay slipped her brown pumps back on. "Well, I guess I don't really have a choice then."

"Nope." Troy gave her a satisfied smirk.

She slung her tote over her shoulder. "Then you can carry that lovely stack of papers out to my car for me." She pointed to the pile she had made earlier.

"Fine." Troy huffed in reluctance.

* * *

After a very delicious dinner of Jack's barbeque chicken made with his secret sauce and baked potatoes, Troy walked Sharpay out to her car.

"You know you really don't have to be so chivalrous." Sharpay said as soon as Lucy and Jack had walked back into the house. "You could've gone back in with your parents."

"Except I have something to ask you, and I wanted to wait till they were out of earshot." Troy looked over his should to verify that his parents had left the doorway.

Sharpay stopped walking and looked at Troy skeptically. "Something to ask me, eh?" She raised her eyebrow in question.

"Yes." Troy started bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously. The last time he acted this weird around Sharpay he had asked her to the senior prom. He had gotten so anxious, he almost got sick, but luckily he regained his nerve and blurted it out. Lucy still kept their picture from the dance on the fireplace mantle next to Troy's senior picture.

His stomach was feeling alright so he figured it wouldn't be as bad this time around. "So I ran into Jason Cross earlier today."

"Oh really? I heard he's opening a restaurant downtown." Sharpay couldn't figure out why Troy was acting so nervous.

"Yeah he is. It's opening this Friday."

"Cool, we should check it out sometime." She nodded her head, wondering when his question would come in.

Troy thanked his lucky stars that Sharpay led in to his question. "Actually, he invited me to the opening and told me to bring a date."

Sharpay could feel disappointment wash over her body. She figured his next question would be if she had any single friends. "Sorry Troy, but most of my girlfriends are taken. Actually one of them just got engaged to Jason."

Troy couldn't believe that she wasn't getting the hint. "Yeah, he mentioned that. And I'm not asking you to find me a date. I'm asking you to be my date."

"S-s-seriously?" Sharpay stuttered, her chocolate eyes huge with excitement.

"Yeah, you're the only person I'd want to take." Troy responded. He gave her a genuine smile instead of his usual sheepish smirk.

"Oh, okay." Her voice was soft since she was still getting over the shock.

"So is that a yes then?" Troy moved his head so he could capture her eyes.

"Yes." Sharpay confirmed.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yep." Sharpay started walking towards her car.

"Bye!"

Troy's yell startled Sharpay and caused her to stumble over the front bumper. She played it off and yelled goodbye back before continuing on towards the driver's side.

Troy tried to stifle his laughter. She was so cute when she was nervous and giddy, and he was the one who had caused her to act so unlike herself. He gave himself a mental cheer as he watched her back out of the driveway.

Sharpay waited till she turned off the Bolton's street before screaming with excitement. It was the exact same reaction she had when he asked to her the prom.

Now all they had to do was get through auditions and basketball try-outs tomorrow.

**As always please read and review!!!! I really like hearing what you guys think!**

**Thanks,**

**LoveIsLost29**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much to all those who reviews the last chapter!! I'm so sorry this chapter is so later, I was trying to make it as perfect as possible!! LOL Hope you guys like it!**

Tensions were high all throughout the school day. The basketball hopefuls were anxious to try-out, not knowing how the new coach planned on choosing the varsity team. Those who took their auditions seriously were hoping they would remember the songs they were singing and remain on key. Everyone else in the school felt the nerves of the select group of students. They were accustomed to the division between sports and the performing arts and were afraid to picture what would happen if they ended up joining together.

Sharpay was stressed to her wit's end since she hoped this musical would be her biggest production yet at East High, and she didn't know if this new audition rule would change that. She really had no intention of casting any first string basketball players, but this morning threw her a curve ball. Reed had asked to if he could audition for a different role. For some reason he wanted to go out for Dimitri, the male lead. Sharpay was thrilled at first since the only other person signed up for the role was a meek freshman with no singing ability, but as the day progressed she began wondering if it was the right thing to do or not. Could this musical possibly be at risk for failure now?

Troy had shown calmness throughout the entire day, but it was only a front. He was not thrilled to have to make the decision this evening about who would be first string, and who would probably spend most of the season on the bench. He knew he could possibly be squashing the dreams of a high school senior looking to play college ball. At least he had Jack to help him through the process. After all his father had done this for over thirty years, though he confided in Troy that it never got easier. Now Troy could only hope that he made the right decision.

It seemed that two young teachers were in the same boat. Maybe they could help each other out?

* * *

Sharpay felt her stomach drop when she took the stage to give the rundown on auditions. This was the beginning of her big project, and she was terrified to see it begin. A cough from the front row brought her back to reality. She smiled when she saw Troy grinning back at her.

"Alright everyone, here's how things are gonna go today. You will all be singing a song of your choice. Cole Higgins has graciously offered to be our pianist throughout the musical. Please provide him with your music. Hopefully all of you are prepared. If you do not have a song selected, we will provide you with one based on the part you are auditioning for. The cast and crew list will be posted tomorrow morning. Now let's begin." Sharpay consulted her audition list. "First up is Trevor Walden."

Sharpay exited the stage by the side stairs. She joined Troy in the front row with a pad of paper and pen in hand to take notes.

The first hour seemed to drag on with auditions for chorus and supporting roles. The students were either really good or so tone deaf, Sharpay had to cut them off within the first thirty seconds. She was relieved when it got down to the final two auditions.

The freshman who had gone out for Dimitri messed up royally. Sharpay was hoping she wouldn't have to cast him as she called Reed to take the stage. Troy had stuck around to see if the school's supposed star player could carry a tune.

Reed went up to Cole as soon as he took the stage since he didn't have a song prepared. After receiving the sheet for the selected song and the microphone, he took center stage and waited for his cue to begin.

Cole nodded his head indicating for Reed to begin.

**I hung up the phone tonight  
Something happened for the first time deep inside  
It was a rush, what a rush  
**

Reed stumbled through the first verse when he saw the eyes in the audience staring back at him. Sharpay's intense stare was especially nerve inducing, but she was the one he had to impress so he quickly stepped it up and pretended he was singing in the shower.**  
**

**'Cause the possibility  
That you would ever feel the same way about me  
It's just too much, just too much**

**Why do I keep running from the truth?  
All I ever think about is you  
You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
And I've just got to know  
**

He sought out Shayne's gaze as he began the chorus. The sooner he put his plan in motion the better, and part of that plan was making Shayne believe he was into her.

**Do you ever think when you're all alone  
All that we can be, where this thing can go?  
Am I crazy or falling in love?  
Is it real or just another crush?**

**Do you catch a breath when I look at you?  
Are you holding back like the way I do?  
'Cause I'm trying and trying to walk away  
But I know this crush ain't goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy  
Goin' away-ay-ay-ay-ayy**

Cole had stopped at the end of the first chorus as he had been instructed, but Reed had belted it out as if it were the end of the song. The remaining audience was silent with awe.

With Reed's strong finish, Troy leaned over and whispered in Sharpay's ear, "I think you found your leading man."

"He was amazing wasn't he?" Sharpay responded with astonishment. "But can I cast him?"

"You need to do whatever is best for your musical. Now I better head over to the gym. You should stop by try-outs when you're done here."

"I will." She gave Troy a soft smile as he got up. Then she realized Reed was standing on the stage waiting for a reaction. "That was wonderful, Reed. Thank you."

"Thanks, Ms. Evans." Reed replied sheepishly, hoping he was convincing enough to show that he actually wanted the role.

"Alright, Shayne," Sharpay turned to the girl on her right, "you're up."

Shayne looked around the theater, quickly noticing that everyone who was in there had already auditioned. Was she the only one up for Anastasia? She handed off her music to Cole and took the microphone from the piano top where Reed had left it. She took center stage and nodded for Cole to start playing.

Reed was about to walk out of the gym when Shayne's melodic voice stopped him in his tracks.

**We're driving slow  
Through the snow  
On fifth avenue  
And right now radio's  
All that we can hear**

**Now we ain't talked since we left  
It's so overdue  
It's cold outside  
But between us its worse in here**

**The world slows down  
But my heart beats fast right now  
I know this is the part  
Where the end starts**

Reed slipped in the back row as she began the chorus. He was entranced and wanted to see her entire performance.

Shayne knew Reed was watching her. She saw him stop out of the corner of her eye when she started. She just couldn't understand why he was sticking around.

**I can't take it any longer  
Thought that we were stronger  
All we do is linger  
Slipping through my fingers**

**I don't want to try now  
All that's lefts goodbye to  
Find a way that I can tell you**

**I hate this part right here  
I hate this part right here  
I just can't take your tears  
I hate this part right here**

Sharpay waved for her to stop at the end of the first chorus. Shayne was amazing and perfect for the part. Plus she was the only one to audition. "Thank you, Shayne. That was beautiful."

"Thank you, Ms. Evans." Shayne bowed her head then exited the stage. She saw Reed sneaking out of the theater as she descended the stairs. She hurried to her belongings, hoping to catch him before he got to the gym.

Sharpay turned around to face those who remained. "Alright everyone, that is all. Cast list will be posted tomorrow. Thank you." She gathered her things, anxious to go watch the basketball try-outs. She wanted to see the players in their element, and it never hurt to see more of Troy.

* * *

Exiting the theater, Shayne saw Reed sprinting down the hall towards the gym. "Reed!" She yelled hoping he would slow down since she couldn't exactly run in heels.

Reed stopped as he was about to turn the corner. He smirked to himself knowing his plan was definitely in motion before turning around. "What?" He asked roughly. "I have try-outs to get to."

Shayne mentally scolded for herself for actually thinking he would talk to her like a human being. "Then why did you stop?" she snapped.

"I thought it was one of the new cheerleaders looking for a quickie in the janitor's closet." He retorted.

"You're such a pig," she huffed. "I can't believe I thought…" Shayne let her voice trail off.

"Thought what?" Reed turned his lips up into an evil smirk.

"I saw you in the back of theater. You were about to leave, but you stopped. And you watched my audition. What was that?" Shayne demanded.

Reed panicked for a moment. She saw him and that's why she chased him down? Here he thought she was gonna mention his singing to her during his audition. It looked like Shayne was going to be harder to crack than he thought. He needed to get to the gym so he came up with a lame excuse. "Look, quit wasting my time with your stupid questions. I have a try-out to get to that actually has significance versus that stupid musical."

"So why did you audition for a male lead?" She countered.

Damn, she was really on her game Reed realized. "Ms. Evans offered me extra credit so I sang a different song. It's not like I'm gonna get the part. At least I better not, I couldn't stand the thought of having to act like I actually like you. Now if you don't mind, I need to go teach these basketball wannabes some real game."

He smiled when she spun on her heel and stomped off in a huff. Glancing down at his watch, he saw he really had to bolt to the gym. Luckily he was a pro at sprinting down the school halls.

* * *

Troy stood with Jason at the sidelines watching the players warm-up debating how to begin the try-outs. They both agreed that they should start with endurance and work their way down to shooting skills. Troy blew his whistle to get the boys' attention. "Alright, listen up!" He shouted.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened.

"We're gonna start with suicides. You're gonna do fifteen each, so line up."

The twenty or so boys lined up at the end of the gym, waiting for Troy's whistle to begin. When he blew it, they took off.

Sharpay came in as they started. The herd of charging males was a bit intimidating as she approached Troy and Jason. "You didn't tell me this was gonna be so intense!" she exclaimed glancing at the boys again.

"We're starting hard and working our way down. This way we spot who the weaker players are right away." Troy explained.

Sharpay nodded her head to show she understood. "Hey Jason! Congratulations on the engagement!" She ran over to hug him.

"Thanks, Shar." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting.

Troy found himself a bit jealous by the gesture, but quickly refocused his gaze to the boys.

"So what are you doing here?" Sharpay asked.

"Troy recruited me to help out."

"Don't you have a restaurant opening to be getting ready for?"

"You're forgetting my fiancée is super organized. Everything is set. I'll just have some last minute details to go over tomorrow before Friday's grand opening."

"Which I'm so excited for!" Sharpay squealed in delight.

"I'm glad. Think you could sweet talk the food critics for me?" Jason joked.

"No, but your fiancée is going to look so fabulous in the dress I made her that that's all the reviewers will talk about."

"This isn't L.A., Shar."

Sharpay made her tone serious. "You obviously don't know my designing skills, Mr. Cross."

"She's right, Jase," Troy chimed in, "she came up with brand new gear for the team. The uniforms are pretty sweet looking, and the sweats are retro. She used our old hoodies." He then went back to walking the sidelines, shouting encouragement at the boys every once in awhile.

"So should Kaci be worried that the designer of her wedding dress is making sportswear now too?"

Sharpay gave Jason a light punch to his shoulder, being sure to avoid the muscle. "Don't be an ass."

"I'm just saying, I don't want my future bride walking down the aisle in a jersey." Jason backed up and put up his arms to defend himself from another attack.

Sharpay made her voice serious. "Darn," she sighed, "there goes my design for her wedding night lingerie." Sharpay laughed at Jason's astonished face. "But seriously you know I'm hoping Kaci's dress will help my career take off. With her family's big name, your wedding is sure to be published in national papers."

"Don't remind me." Jason shuddered. The publicity that came with dating an heiress had its pros and cons. One pro being the press the restaurant would get. A con being their dream of intimate wedding being crushed by the need to keep up appearances. Jason figured a change of subject was a good idea. "So Troy said he asked you to be his date to my opening." His tone of voice was teasing.

Sharpay's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. "Yes." She dragged out the word as she became very interested in a scuff mark on the floor.

"It's about time for you two. I thought you guys would be the first ones married."

"Who's getting married?" Troy looked at them questioningly, having overheard the end of Jason's statement as he walking by.

Sharpay was quick to respond. "Jason was just saying how weird it is that and Ryan and Kelsi were the first ones to get married."

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "And haven't they been married for like three years now?"

"Yep." Sharpay nodded her head nervously hoping Troy wouldn't pick it up on it. Luckily he was watching the boys again.

"Looks, like they're done. We better go over the next drill with them Jase."

"Alright." Jason went to grab a couple basketballs from the bin behind him. "Nice save." He whispered in Sharpay's ear before walking off.

Sharpay let out a huge sigh of relief as she took a seat in the bleachers. Just leave it to Jason to make the situation awkward. She swore some days he thought he was Cupid reincarnated. The senior prom was a great example.

_After playing one of the latest hits, the dj was forced to take a break as Ms. Darbus came fluttering up to the microphone that stood in the center of the mini stage. "Attention everyone, attention!"_

_Everyone knew better than to ignore East High's truest drama queen, especially the seniors._

"_It's time to announce our prom king and queen."_

_Some cheered while others groaned at the announcement. The naming of prom royalty was always a bittersweet moment, as it was in any high school._

_Troy tried convincing Sharpay to get a pop with him, but she forced him to stay where they were on the dance floor since he was guaranteed the title of "King."_

"_Our prom king is…" Ms. Darbus paused to open a little red envelope. "Mr. Troy Bolton!"_

_The crowd erupted in cheers for the obvious winner. Troy attempted to hide behind Sharpay and Kelsi's poufy prom dresses, but both girls and the majority of the basketball team pushed him forward to the front. He put a half smile on his face as Ms. Darbus placed the cheap plastic gold crown on his head that was decorated with fake red gems. The student council president had to hand him his scepter since the drama teacher scampered back to the front to announce the queen._

"_And our prom queen…" Many girls crossed their fingers in hopes of being named Troy Bolton's reigning queen while Ms. Darbus struggled to open a small white envelope. She sighed in relief when she finally ripped it open. Her face lit up with a smile as she read the name on the index card confusing the majority of the students. "Congratulations Ms. Sharpay Evans!"_

_Sharpay froze in shock. The senior class had voted her prom queen? How was that possible? Chad Danforth had forced almost everyone to hate her._

"_Sharpay?" Ms. Darbus searched the crowd for her favorite student._

"_Go on, Sharpay!" Kelsi pushed her forward slightly._

"_C'mon, sis." Ryan nudged with a bit of force hoping to make her react, but he only succeeded in moving her a few inches to the right._

"_That's it." Jason pushed between Kelsi and Ryan. He then grabbed Sharpay's hand and started walking which forced her to follow or else risk being dragged. Before releasing her to Ms. Darbus, he whispered in her ear, "I didn't stuff the ballot box for nothing. Go reign with your king."_

_Sharpay only had a second to throw him a glare before Ms. Darbus pulled her to the center of the stage to stand next to Troy. She was forced to put a smile on her face, but was glad the spotlight prevented her from seeing the venomous glares of her classmates._

"_As tradition, our king will crown his queen." Ms. Darbus handed Troy a silver tiara encrusted with phony diamonds._

_Troy was grinning as he placed the tiara delicately on her head so he wouldn't mess up her hair. "For you my queen," he whispered._

_At that point Sharpay stopped caring about what was running through the minds of everyone else. She was with Troy and that's all that mattered._

"_Now our king and queen will share a spotlight dance."_

_The crowd parted from the area the spotlight illuminated. Troy led Sharpay to the middle of the newly formed circle and spun her in around before placing his hands at her waist. She circled her hands around his neck as the song that matched the theme of the prom started playing. She was completely happy in Troy's arms. She just wished she hadn't decided on a princess dress since it was preventing her from dancing even closer to Troy's body._

_Troy being a teenage boy was thinking the same thing. He loved the feeling of having her in his arms. She fit perfectly._

_Neither one noticed when the song ended. They just spent the rest of the dance in each other's arms, only moving when some other couple pushed them out of the way. In their world, no one else existed._

Sharpay snapped back to reality when she heard someone scream "Look out!" She looked up just in time to catch the basketball that was headed directly for her face. She tossed it back to a very stunned junior as quickly as she caught it.

Troy came running over to make sure she was alright. "Are you okay?" His ocean blue eyes were filled with worry.

"Other than some chipped nail polish, I'm perfectly fine." Sharpay smiled reassuringly.

"That was some catch." Troy said in awe. He thought for sure the ball was going to pummel her square in the face.

"I learned a few skills from you and your dad throughout the years." She teased.

"Wanna go teach those guys how to throw?" He gestured with his head to the scrimmage that was taking place on the court.

"I think I'll stick with teaching drama."

"Well it should only be about another half hour here. You can go if you want." Troy secretly hoped she wouldn't leave.

"No, I'll stay. I'm in no hurry to get home and select the cast." She left out watching Troy on the basketball court. Seeing him in the coaching zone was quite the turn on.

Troy laughed. "I know what you mean. I have no clue how I'm going to pick a team of only twenty tonight."

"Well as long as that kid who almost took me out isn't high up on your list, I'm sure you'll pick this season's champions."

"I'm glad someone has faith in me." Troy replied relieved. "Now it's time to see how good these guys are at scoring."

Sharpay burst out laughing at the unintentional innuendo. Troy stared at her like she was mad not realizing what he had just implied. "I'll come back in a bit then." He threw her one more confused look as he walked back onto the court.

Having gotten her laughter under control, Sharpay leaned back into the bleachers and watched the boys line up at the free throw lines of the various baskets around the court. She could see how nervous they were as they dribbled the balls under Troy's intense gaze. He really was going to be a great coach.

* * *

After rehearsals Troy, Sharpay and Jason met Kaci for pizza at the restaurant. Jason wanted his friends to see it before the grand opening.

As they looked around, Sharpay and Troy joked about how they couldn't say whether they liked the place or not until they tried the food. In reality they were greatly impressed that Jason was living his dream. His main goal in life had been to own his own restaurant since kindergarten.

The Wildcat Bistro was everything Jason had hoped for. It was an upscale restaurant but still paid homage to the small town he called home. All the tables were covered in red or white table cloths. The plates were white with gold outlining, the silverware sparkled, the glasses were a bit funky but still classy and the cloth napkins were gold. Sharpay gave her fashionista approval of the color scheme. When Kaci had told her Jason was going with East High colors, she was a bit worried. But it totally worked.

Jason was most excited to show them the décor of the place. He ushered them to the back so they could work their way forward. The back wall was a tribute to the 2008 Wildcat champions filled with pictures of the old team from freshman to senior year. Jason and Troy made fun of themselves as gawky freshman who had yet to grow into their bodies. Sharpay and Kaci stared in amazement at how little the boys changed. They had gotten cuter, but that was about it.

The other walls were filled with various pictures of landmarks in Albuquerque. Some everyone would recognize like the town hall and East High, but others were special places that only Jason and his closet friends knew about, like the old playground that got knocked down to build a popular chain store.

The final place they looked was the area around the bar and kitchen door. Jason decided he wanted everyone who ever ate in his restaurant to know the people who encouraged his dream. The sterling silver frames were filled with photos of his parents, three sisters, grandparents, his family pets that they had throughout his childhood, the Bolton family, the Evans twins, Kaci and lastly one of himself, Troy and Sharpay. It was the biggest and first photo you saw when you walked through the door.

Sharpay noticed that there was one empty spot near Jason and Kaci's engagement photo and his sister Angela's wedding picture. When she pointed it out, Jason told her that they had run out of frames. He assured her it would be fixed within the coming weeks. He left out that the space was reserved for a picture of her and Troy as a couple.

**As always please review!!!!!**

**I also Disclaim. I do not own HSM, the songs Crush or I Hate This Part or the movie Anastasia, which the musical is based off of. **

**Thanks so much for reading!!!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Shayne pulled her Pontiac Sunfire into her parking spot right next to Reed's Range Rover. Thanks to the chance of the parking lottery, the sworn enemies were forced to park next to each other for the entire year. However, Reed normally didn't get to school till there were ten minutes left till homeroom.

The parking lot was empty except for their two cars. Today was the day the cast and team lists went up, and they both wanted to be the first to see if they got their respective roles or not.

Reed gave Shayne a nod of his head as he got out of his flashy vehicle. They walked towards the building side-by-side in silence. When they reached the doors, Reed was a gentleman and held it open for Shayne. She scuttled past him with a slight blush creeping on her cheeks.

Sharpay and Troy had just posted the lists on the bulletin boards when Shayne and Reed walked up. The teachers gave the students a smile before walking off to the faculty lounge.

Shayne didn't care that Reed was watching. She bolted for the cast list. The first role on the list was Anastasia and her name was next to it in big bold letters. She clapped in delight then proceeded to scan the list. Her finger stopped on the male lead.

Reed walked casually to the team roster even though his stomach was doing somersaults. The first thing on the list was that the team captain was to be determined which was standard till the first game when it would be announced. Next was the team. Reed was stunned to find his name first on the list. Sure he acted cocky about his skills around the school, but that was all for show. He worked his butt off to get as good as he was, and he was relieved to see it had finally paid off. He just hoped he would be named team captain in the coming weeks.

Glancing over he saw Shayne still studying the cast list. "Can't find your name?" He walked towards her then leaned against the wall casually to wait for an answer.

"No, I'm Anastasia." She didn't remove her gaze from the large sheet of paper.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks." She replied distractedly after barely hearing him.

Reed turned so he was facing her and not the hall. "I made the team." He raised his eyebrows waiting for a sarcastic comment.

Shayne turned her head to make eye contact. "That's not all you made." She jabbed her finger at the list.

Reed immediately was at her side to see what she pointing at. His blue eyes grew to the size of saucers when he saw his name next to the role of Dimitri. "Are you kidding me?"

"Ms. Evans doesn't kid."

Reed never thought in a million years he would get a leading role in the musical. Sure he hoped for the part when he wanted to get even with Shayne, but after her having no reaction to his singing exclusively to her during his audition, he didn't see the point to pursue it since she obviously wasn't interested. What was he going to do? There was no way to keep it quiet. The entire school would know in just a matter of a few short minutes.

He sank to the floor in defeat.

"Hey it's not a bad thing." Shayne looked down at him only to be viewed back with confused eyes. "Obviously you were the best for the part."

She was prevented from saying anymore by the opening of the doors. Reed's friends were strutting down the hall at a steady speed. Things wouldn't be good if they were seen actually getting along so she turned on her heel and hurried off. Reed jumped up and met them just as they reached the bulletin board. He hoped they wouldn't give the drama club board a second glance.

He was relieved when they all started walking in the opposite direction towards homeroom in celebration. Every senior who tried out had made the team, and they wanted the whole school to know who was going to lead the team to victory this year.

Reed just wondered how he was going to manage that and starring in the musical.

* * *

Troy went to find Sharpay during free period. He was curious to find out how Reed was taking the news to being casted in the musical. He was surprised to find her in the theater in the middle of an argument with Reed.

"But Ms. Evans, I can't do the role. I have basketball to worry about."

"Then you shouldn't have auditioned for the part. You should have gone out for chorus like the rest of your friends, and you would have ended up building and painting the set instead."

Reed huffed in defeat. He realized he was getting nowhere thanks to his own stupid failing plot to hurt Shayne.

Sharpay picked up the final script from her pile. "Now here is your script and music. Look it over before our first rehearsal on Monday." She handed the book over to him.

"Okay." Reed took the book and trudged off down the aisle.

Troy came out of from behind the curtains when he heard the auditorium door close. "Looks like someone isn't happy."

Sharpay looked up from the box of spare music she was trying to organize. "That's what he gets for auditioning well."

"Well, I only came to find out how he reacted."

"And you got a front row seat."

"Has Shayne complained at all? I figured she would probably be freaking out right now too with the feud those two have going on."

"Surprisingly no. She hasn't said anything except thank you when she picked up her script."

"Wow." Troy sat down at the piano and feathered his fingers over the keys, emitting a few light notes. "So tomorrow is Jason's opening." Troy's tone was almost questioning.

"Yes it is." Sharpay smoothed down her skirt as she sat down next to him on the bench. She knew he was trying to allude to something. She just had no idea what. "And?"

"And I'm sure you have some fancy dress all planned out for yourself, but I have nothing that is appropriate for an opening so I was thinking…"

"Troy, are you asking me to take you shopping?" Sharpay asked in a playful voice.

Troy hung his head in embarrassment. "Yes I am. Will you?" He looked at her with pleading eyes, though inside he could only imagine what he was getting himself into.

Sharpay laughed. "Of course. We'll go after school."

"Oh, I have a team meeting after school. Can I pick you up afterwards?"

"Sure."

"Cool you're the best." Troy gave her a very quick peck on the cheek before running out of the theater.

As he jogged down the hall towards his office, he mentally kicked himself for his hasty move. He didn't think before he acted, but it was friendly gesture, right? Jason did it yesterday. Sharpay wouldn't think anything of it so he should stop too.

Sharpay brought her hands to the spot that Troy's lips had touched. He probably meant it as a friendly gesture, nothing to react on. But she couldn't help but think about the tiny spark she felt. That didn't happen between people who were "just friends".

* * *

Arriving at her apartment at the end of the day, Sharpay realized this shopping trip would be the perfect opportunity to get all his measurements for the suit she was making him. It also dawned on her that she should really start on it soon since basketball season would be on them before they knew it.

She threw a notepad in her purse to jot down his sizes later before heading into her room to change out of her teacher clothes. She decided on a pair of jeans and a black off the shoulder cashmere sweater. The outfit was completed by her favorite pair of black boots.

She normally would just throw on a t-shirt and sneakers with her jeans, but today was about playing stylist to Troy so she had to look the part. Plus she wouldn't mind if she caught Troy checking out her rear while walking through the mall because it did look awfully good in that pair of jeans in her opinion.

* * *

Troy felt like a true coach standing in front of the twenty boys he had selected to make-up the varsity basketball team. He was feeling a bit self-conscious from the amount of respect and admiration they had shown him over the past couple weeks. They always acted like they were in the presence of a god, and he didn't understand it. He was just a guy with a passion for basketball who happened to have a bit of talent on the court that came from years of hard work in the very gym he was standing in.

"Alright guys, congratulations on making this year's varsity team. I have a lot planned for us, and I'm sure you're all willing to work hard to bring the championship trophy home."

The boys cheered at the mention of the championship.

"Nice to see you're all excited remember how you feel right now when your entire body is screaming and sweat is pouring off your skin and making puddles on the floor. You're going to have to give a lot of sweat, some blood and even a few tears to make it to the finals, and it all starts right here." He pointed to center line that was beneath his feet. "These next couple weeks are going to be intense. I'm going to be looking for the best of the best in order to build the first string so bring everything you have to every single practice. I'll also be looking for the player with the most heart to lead this team as captain. I know what it takes because I was captain of my own team for two years straight and my teammates looked up to me. If you think you can be a leader, show me." He took a pause to let his words sink in. Staring at the faces of the team he saw fear, excitement and eagerness, which is exactly what he hoped to see.

"Now here is how things are gonna run. Practice will be every day after school from 3:30-5:00. I expect all of you to be in the gym, warmed-up and ready to go at exactly 3:30. Weight training will take place every Wednesday. I also highly recommend running your own practices during free period or before school. Are there any questions?"

There was nothing but silence.

"Okay. I'll see you all Monday. Come ready to work." Troy blew his whistle to dismiss them. The boys filed out of the gym in a straight line.

Troy smirked to himself, knowing he had their respect already just by speaking from experience.

* * *

Reed had to stop at his locker before leaving to get his script. He had stashed it beneath all of his textbooks so no one would see it.

A small piece of paper floated to the floor when he opened the locker door. He bent over to pick it up very curious as to what it could be. He was surprised to see it was a note written in a girl's handwriting.

All it said was "_Call me tonight. 555-0976."_

It wasn't signed, but Reed recognized the phone number. He dialed it almost every day as a freshman. He just didn't understand why he was being asked to call it now.

* * *

Troy was daunted as Sharpay dragged him into Nordstrom, the only semi-decent department store in her eyes in Albuquerque. She kept asking him about measurements, and he had no clue what the answers were.

The second they hit the men's department Sharpay started grabbing various items off the racks and throwing them at him. When he could no longer see where he was going, she shoved him into the dressing room to try it all on.

She disapproved of everything and went back out to find more. Troy was not looking forward to trying on another fifty pieces, but she returned with only three: a pair of designer jeans, a black blazer and a white button up shirt.

"This is way more you," she said as she handed the clothes over.

Troy was relieved that he actually recognized the items he was putting on. When he came out, Sharpay nodded her approval.

"Can we go this casual to the opening?"

"Of course. It's not some fancy upscale restaurant. Jason wanted to keep it classy but affordable. His rule was that as long as you don't look like you've just rolled out of bed, you can come in and dine."

"Nice rule." Troy pulled on the blazer to adjust it. "So does it work?"

"Most definitely."

"Then what was with all the suits you shoved at me?"

"Oh that," Sharpay tried to stifle a giggle, "it was for my own amusement."

Troy gave her evil glare that threatened he would be trying to get even later.

"Haha!" Sharpay clapped her hands as she laughed hysterically. "You should see your face!"

Troy continued with the glaring.

"Relax I was kidding. Since you don't know your measurements I had to learn them somehow. I need that information to make your suit, duh."

Instead of retorting Troy just headed back into the dressing room to change. He came out with the clothes draped over his arm ready to pay, the part he was dreading most.

At the cashier Sharpay started rummaging through her purse.

"Uh-uh." Troy tried to push it off the counter.

"What?" Sharpay stared at him confused. "I'm just trying to find my coupons that I get monthly for having the credit card. You don't want to save money?"

"Oh." Troy blushed a bit with embarrassment. He hoped Sharpay wouldn't think he was an ass for assuming she wanted to buy the outfit for him.

Sharpay was amazed at her save. She knew there was no way Troy could afford the clothes right now, but she wasn't about to argue so she figured the least she could do was save him a little bit of money. She handed three red slips of paper to the cashier. Once they were scanned, the numbers on the computer screen went down significantly.

So she used the fifty dollars she had earned for frequent purchases. Savings were savings, right?

"That must have been some coupon." Troy commented.

"Yeah, this month's were all for men's. Good thing I didn't throw them away."

"Seriously. Thanks, though."

Sharpay waved it off. "It was nothing."

Troy took his bag, and Sharpay led them towards the exit.

Troy stopped walking. Sharpay kept going which gave him a nice view of her backside, and he was very impressed with what he saw.

"Whoa, Sharpay Evans doesn't want to continue shopping? You do know we're in the mall, right?"

Sharpay paused and turned, seeing Troy's distance, she knew he had taken the opportunity to check her out just like she wanted. "I'm not a teenager with Daddy's credit card anymore. Besides I have a fashion degree my tastes in clothing are far more refined than Gap."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I was just surprised. I didn't expect to get out of here so soon." He gave his watch a glance.

"We spent two hours here." Sharpay responded. She reached the passenger door of his car and waited for him to open it.

Troy unlocked the doors. He threw his bag in the backseat then jumped behind the steering wheel. "I was expecting to be here till close." He threw the car in reverse before Sharpay could suggest they go back in.

* * *

Shayne was sitting at her desk procrastinating on doing research for her biology paper. She was starting a game of solitaire when her phone started ringing to her favorite Wicked song. The caller ID showed an unknown caller, but she had an inkling as to who it was.

"Hello?"

"Shayne, its Reed." His voice was a bit higher than normal and he coughed in an attempt to cover it.

"I see you got my note."

"Yeah, so I'm calling. What did you want?"

"I have an offer for you."

"You, have an offer for me?" He his voice was arrogant.

Shayne rolled her eyes though he couldn't see it. "You're going to be very busy with rehearsals and practice so I was thinking I could help you with the rehearsal part by running lines and going over music with you."

"What makes you think I would want your help?"

"Just your reaction when you found out you got the male lead role this morning. If you don't want my help I won't be offended. I was just trying to help you out."

"I could be a jerk about this, but I'm just too tired to lie. I could really use your help with learning my lines."

Shayne was not surprised that he accepted her offer. She knew below Reed's tough jock exterior was a pretty decent guy. A guy she used to know. "Alright then, we'll start tomorrow during lunch. Meet me in the theater."

"Whatever you say."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye." Shayne had a feeling Reed would be a lot more difficult during school tomorrow. She seriously wondered how he intended to sneak away from his posse that was sure to gather at his locker before lunch.

Reed crashed into bed second guessing his acceptance of Shayne's offer. But tonight he didn't have the energy to think about it. He had just finished a six mile run around the neighborhood and wanted nothing more than to sleep.

**Thanks to those who took the time to review the last chapter!! You really helped in getting this chapter out!!!! You guys are awesome!!!**

**Please review this one as well!!! **

**I have a lot planned for the next chapter so stay tuned!!!!**

**As always I disclaim. If I owned HSM would Zac and Vanessa have performed together at the Oscars??? NO WAY!!!!**


	7. Chapter 7

Surprisingly no one questioned him when he claimed he had to go see his calculus teacher for help with the latest homework assignment. After all the future basketball captain had a mandatory GPA to maintain.

She was talking to herself, pacing across the stage when he entered. He was so entranced by her casual appearance consisting of faded jeans, a white t-shirt, pink sneakers and her auburn hair piled high in a messy bun that it took him a moment to realize she was rehearsing her monologue.

Hearing the stage door close, she immediately stopped what she was doing. He showed up and was actually on time?

He approached carefully feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. A warm welcoming smile told him there was no need to be hesitant, she was expecting him after all. He placed his backpack next to hers in front of the huge red curtain and grabbed his script before joining her center stage. "Where do we begin?" he asked, fanning the pages of the script.

"Let's just start at the beginning."

He panicked, thinking she wanted to sing the closing song. When he saw her open her script to the first page, he realized she meant the opening act. "Okay, cool."

They didn't get very far before she was correcting him and offering pointers. He didn't fight her. He knew she was only trying to help, but he still didn't understand why. He kinda wished she wouldn't keep the "let's keep this strictly business" attitude. He wanted to see what was behind the stone walls she had put up, the kind-hearted best friend he knew since diapers. Since he couldn't say these desires out loud, he decided to save these emotions for his scenes with her, even if they only were being their characters.

As the lunch hour dwindled down, she started rubbing her bare arms hoping the friction would help the chill she was starting to feel go away since she had forgotten her sweatshirt in her car. He noticed her shiver slightly. He still knew how cold she tended to get even in the summertime.

He put down his script and removed his hoodie. He handed it over without words. She accepted it with a gracious smile. She inhaled his scent as the material slipped over her head.

He laughed as she bunched the sleeves at her elbows so she could actually use her hands. She was pretty much swimming in his favorite hunter green American Eagle apparel, but it suited her well. She looked so natural wearing it, and she would be lying if she didn't say she felt natural wearing it too.

Was it coincidence that she was now wearing the one thing that had kept them connected for their two and a half years of not speaking? She had given her former best friend the sweatshirt as a gift for his fifteenth birthday, and he always wore the gift from his best friend whenever he could. It was his only way to be near her.

When the bell rang, she went to remove it, but he told her to keep it for the day. He would get it after school in the parking lot.

She protested, saying the student body would notice her walking around in his trademark sweatshirt. He didn't care. She needed it more than he did, and she couldn't be more grateful at the moment. He also wanted the school to notice her in his hoodie even if he had no idea why.

They walked out of the theater together then went their separate ways in the hall. They had to hurry to class, but they didn't want to. Because then they would be hurrying off to be Reed, the Basketball God and Shayne, the Drama Queen instead of the he and she they got to be for the last hour. They got to be label-less friends again for the first time in a long time.

* * *

Troy hated to admit that he actually liked the feel of his new designer clothes. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that Sharpay had selected this particular outfit for him, but the enjoyment could also be attributed to the fact that he hadn't bought anything new for himself in the last two years. The minimal money he made while working odd jobs in North Carolina went to bills, groceries and one other obligation that required the majority of his paychecks. There was never anything left over to spend on himself. So tonight he was going to enjoy looking good while he stood next to what he assumed would be one very hot Sharpay.

He arrived at Sharpay's apartment fifteen minutes before Jason and Kaci were supposed to pick them up in the limo they had rented for the occasion. He and Sharpay tried to decline, but the engaged couple refused to take no for an answer insisting there would be lots of drinking after the diners went home and the after party began.

He rang the buzzer, hoping Sharpay would be ready. She told him to let himself in as she opened the security door because she was finishing her make-up. He killed time by taking the stairs very slowly to her third floor apartment instead of the elevator.

He reached her door two minutes later, obviously he didn't walk slow enough. He knocked lightly on the door before letting himself in as he had been instructed. "Shar?" He called out as he entered the two bedroom apartment. He was instantly hit with the intoxicating smell of lavender and vanilla when he walked into the living room, the fragrance of Sharpay's perfume that he loved so much.

"I'll be right out Troy!" she yelled from what he assumed was the direction of the bedroom. "Have a seat, watch some TV, make yourself comfortable!"

Just as Troy was about to settle into the couch with a basketball game on ESPN, Sharpay's heels started clacking across the hardwood floor. She made her appearance in the living room seconds later. Troy's jaw dropped at the sight of her. She looked absolutely stunning in her deep purple cocktail dress. It stopped at her knees and hugged her figure in all the right places. The beaded waist brought the eye upward, which Troy had a feeling would cause him a few problems during the evening. She completed the dress with a pair of matching strappy heels, her long locks hung down her back in loose curls, diamond studs accented her ears and her smoky eyes made her look that much more smoldering.

"Whoa," was all Troy could utter.

Sharpay gave a flirtatious giggle. "Thanks, you clean up pretty nice too."

Troy's cell phone ringing caused him to snap out of his trance. It was just in time too or else he would've been drooling on the floor. The call was Jason demanding that they get their butts downstairs as their carriage was waiting.

He offered Sharpay his arm as they walked down the hall towards the elevator. She gladly accepted it, more than willing to make the most out of tonight's date.

Jason had his head out the moon roof when they got outside. "C'mon lovebirds, we have my restaurant opening to get to!" He was then pulled forcefully back down by his fiancée.

Troy let Sharpay in first so she could sit next to Kaci. Sliding in next to her, he found a glass of champagne being forced in his face by Jason. "Starting the celebration a little early don't you think? We don't even know what the food tastes like," he joked.

Jason made a face of annoyance. "Ha ha very funny. I just wanna make a toast to my best friends and my best girl," he kissed Kaci's temple, "before we get there. If wasn't for you three, I wouldn't be opening my place tonight so here's to each of you!" He raised his glass and waited for the other to follow suit before taking a sip.

Minutes later they were in front of the Wildcat Bistro. Jason finished his champagne in one gulp in an attempt to calm his nerves. The others laughed at his behavior because they knew he would succeed even with the big deal this night had become. Thanks to Kaci's heiress last name, famous chefs, food critics and restaurant owners would be turning out for the event, and with so many famous faces gathering in one place, a lot of press was expected as well.

No one was prepared for the blinding camera flashes when the limo door was opened. They all had to wait a few seconds for the dancing colors to disappear from their eyesight before exiting the limo.

Jason was first since it was his restaurant with Kaci close behind. The cameras immediately started going off again when the photographers caught sight of her dress. It was a very soft shade of tan in the skirt and a darker shade at the top. The colors were divided by a gold and silver geometric sequin beaded waist which was the highlight of the dress. She topped it off with silver heels and a matching clutch. Kaci Merrin would definitely be making the style section of every newspaper the next day.

When a reporter stopped and asked her who made her dress, she replied, "It's a Sharpay Evans' original." When asked who Sharpay Evans was, she merely smiled and pointed to the blonde in the violet dress who was leading a sandy brown haired man past all the cameras. The reporter immediately called Sharpay over.

Sharpay looked up at the sound of her name. When she saw it was the reporter with Kaci, she almost flipped. They noticed the dress she made! She dragged Troy with her to the waiting journalist.

Kaci introduced Sharpay as one of her very good friends who was an up and coming designer. She stuck around as the reporter asked her questions just to make sure Sharpay didn't become flustered. She ended up being amazed at what a natural the blonde was at answering questions! It was then that Kaci decided she would allow Vogue to feature her wedding dress in their magazine. Sharpay needed to get into the fashion world, and Kaci was determined to help her good friend get there.

* * *

Dinner went by in a whirlwind. It felt like milliseconds between the appetizer and dessert when in reality three hours had gone by. Jason didn't eat during that time frame. He made the rounds of the dining room making sure every customer was satisfied with their dishes, and he said goodbye to every single one when the evening finally winded down.

As soon as the last diner left, the door was locked and champagne was popped in celebration of a successful opening. Everyone was confident that the papers would have nothing bad to print about the Wildcat Bistro.

Family and friends spent the next several hours drinking and dancing. The alcohol was in full supply for the celebration to reign on.

Thanks to the preplanning of Kaci, everyone had a safe ride home that evening in the form of a limo. Many of the drivers rolled their eyes in amusement while their passengers stumbled into the spacious vehicle. The mini fridges were stocked with water bottles for rehydration to avoid killer hangovers the next morning.

Troy, Sharpay, Jason and Kaci were the last to leave. The ride to Sharpay's apartment was filled with hysterical laughter. Everyone felt the need to repeatedly make fun of Jason's rendition of "I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt" on the karaoke machine that involved a semi-striptease thanks to case of beer he and Troy had spilt. Kaci and Sharpay kept insisting that he would receive a lecture from his mother in the morning, but Jason claimed she was in the bathroom at the time and didn't see the performance. It took Troy finding the picture of Sandra Cross's horrified face on Sharpay's camera to convince him that his mother did indeed witness the act.

Jason was still screaming his embarrassment when the limo pulled up in front of Sharpay's building. Kaci was the only one capable of saying goodbye, but she had to hold Jason back who had for some reason decided he lived in Sharpay's building too.

Finding Sharpay's keys became quite the task even though she brought a hand held clutch with her. It was a mystery as to how they suddenly disappeared from the now empty purse, whose contents were in Troy's hands. A jingle in his blazer pocket caused him to shove Sharpay's compact, lipstick and money back into her purse. His hand came in contact with an unfamiliar metal objects. When he pulled them out, he revealed Sharpay's keys. They both burst out laughing having no clue how they had gotten there. In reality Sharpay had asked him to stick them in his pocket before the after-party festivities had begun.

Nerves settled in as the elevator dinged indicating they had arrived on the third floor. They walked to Sharpay's door in silence, neither wanting to enter Sharpay's apartment and go to bed in separate rooms wishing they had made a move.

Jason had set them up with their own table set just for two. He made sure they had an ideal first date dinner. Both of them felt it was perfect. They also danced together and performed a duet when the karaoke machine was brought out. All the date needed was the classic ending.

Troy decided there was no need for the cheesy awkward first date kiss. When Sharpay glanced up at him expectantly after opening her door, he placed his hands on either side of her face and brought their lips together. She instantly responded to the passionate kiss, amazed by his forwardness and bravery. Troy didn't know if liquid courage was making him this bold, but he didn't care. He had wanted to kiss Sharpay since the day he saw her at the faculty meeting.

They reluctantly pulled away when oxygen became necessary. Both were instantly sobered and now were drinking up the passion running between them. Sharpay forcefully pulled Troy into her apartment by the lapels of his blazer. She pressed him up against the wall and kissed him again this time with more fire while kicking the door shut behind them. There was no question in either of their minds about how this evening would end. They had waited too many years for this moment to let it pass them by.

* * *

Sharpay woke-up the next morning tangled in her bed sheets alone. The sound of the shower running instantly calmed her fears that Troy had left in regret. She found Troy's shirt on the floor and put it on so she could go start the coffee pot.

Troy's cell phone started ringing as she started gathering up their various articles of clothing from her bedroom floor. She dug it out of his jeans' pocket figuring it was either his mom calling to make sure they made it to the apartment okay or Jason calling to see how the night went. She didn't bother looking at the caller ID before answering it. "Hello?"

"Is Troy there?" a female voice she did not recognize responded.

Sharpay dropped the pile of clothes in her arms in shock.

"Hello?" the voice spoke again.

"Sorry, he's not available at the moment. Can I take a message?" She looked around for a spare piece of paper and pen.

"Could you just tell him Michelle called and that I love him?" the girl pleaded.

"Sure." Sharpay's voice came off a lot colder than she had intended it too, but whoever this Michelle was wanted her man.

"Thanks."

She hung up the phone without saying good-bye. At this point she was fuming with anger. How dare Troy come back to her when he had another girl waiting for him somewhere!

"Hey, you're up!" Troy didn't know he had picked a very bad moment to re-enter Sharpay's bedroom.

She turned around to face him with his phone clenched in her fist, a very angry look on her face that didn't soften at the sight of him in just a towel.

Troy barely had enough time to duck from the phone that she chucked at his head with an angry scream. He stared at her in shock as his phone fell to the floor in several pieces. "What the fuck?" He could not understand how she was acting this way after the night they had just shared.

Sharpay placed her hands on her hips. "Michelle just called. She wanted you to know that she loves you." Her eyes were brimming with hot angry tears just waiting to fall.

"Sharpay, I can explain." Troy took a step forward, causing Sharpay to take one back.

"What's there to explain Troy?" she yelled. "You have another girlfriend somewhere else who you just cheated on with me!" At this point the tears were falling in full force.

Troy had to figure out how to reason with her. He really did have a good explanation, but she wasn't hearing it. "I'm asking you to please just listen to me." He kept his voice level and continued to keep his distance hoping to break through the wall she had put up in a matter of seconds.

"I don't want to hear it! Just take your crap and get out!" She pointed to the door with force to get her message across.

Troy stood his ground. "I'm not going anywhere until you listen to me."

"I said get the fuck out, goddamnit!" She charged forward and tried to push him out of her bedroom, forgetting how much stronger he was than her. She bounced back with the same amount of force she used to push him. Troy had to grab her to prevent from falling backwards and cracking her head open on the sharp corner of her vanity. She tried pulling away, but Troy wouldn't release her. "Let go of me!"

"After you let me explain that phone call."

When she realized struggling against his grip wasn't helping her cause, she hung her head in defeat and waited to hear to heartbreaking reason for being with her while he had another girlfriend.

"Look at me, Sharpay," he begged.

"Why so you can watch me break into a million pieces?" Her question came off as a mumble as it was directed towards the floor.

"Fine," Troy released his grip on her arms, "I'll go. We'll talk later."

"So you don't deny that what you have to say will break my heart?" Sharpay scoffed.

Troy pulled his jeans and boxers from the pile Sharpay had dropped to the floor. "No, it's because what I have to say breaks my heart. Where's my shirt?" He looked around the room trying to find it. The last place he looked was Sharpay's body, and he was a bit turned on by the site of her in just his dress shirt. The pissed expression on her face immediately brought him back from his daydream.

"How can telling me about Michelle break your heart?"

"Because Michelle is my half sister."

---------------------------------------------------------

**Yes a little cliffhanger for you all…guess it's time to find out what Troy was doing for those six years, huh?**

**So I just need to make a quick clarification. For those of you that have been following the story from the beginning, no I did not mix up the name Michelle with Heather. The explanation as to who Heather is will probably come in the next chapter.**

**I'm going to post the pictures of Sharpay's and Kaci's dresses in my profile. I don't think my description did them very much justice. The dresses are gorgeous!!!**

**Again thanks to all those who reviewed and put this story on alert. Though reviews have gone down a bit for the last couple chapters********. I like hearing what the readers think so let me know!!!**

**Thanks again for reading!!!**

**As always I disclaim. I do not own HSM.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Well here it is: the long awaited explanation of where Troy was for six years.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the HSM franchise.**

Sharpay stared at Troy with her mouth agape. She was having severe difficulties comprehending the thought that he had a half-sister. She sat on her bed as the shock was starting to take a toll on her, and she didn't want to risk fainting.

Troy rushed to her side, noticing the color from her face beginning to drain. He sat next to her, and when she didn't protest, started explaining. "I know this sounds crazy."

"Um, yeah. I don't really believe it."

"I can totally understand that." The deep breaths she began taking, concerned him. He was worried she was going to start hyperventilating. "Do you want me to get you some water or something?"

"I, think, an, explanation, would, be, better." Sharpay panted between breaths.

Troy decided to do as she said. "Well, I'm adopted."

Sharpay's breathing began to calm down.

"I found out right before graduation when a letter from my birth mom arrived in the mail asking me to come meet her because she was losing her battle with breast cancer and didn't want to die having not met the son she gave up for adoption eighteen years ago. For awhile I didn't know what to do. My mom pleaded with me not to go because she was afraid she would lose me like she lost the first child my parents had tried to adopt. I wrestled with the decision. I didn't want to hurt my parents, but I wanted to know my birth mother. So the night before graduation, I packed my duffel bag, wrote a note to my parents telling them I was sorry but I had to do it, and bought myself a bus ticket to North Carolina." He noticed the anger in Sharpay's eyes had been replaced by hurt. "And you're probably wondering why I didn't leave a note behind for you."

She nodded her head yes since she was having a difficult time finding words.

Troy reached for her hand, and surprisingly she let him hold it. He caressed her knuckles as he continued. "I honestly thought I would be back soon. I planned to explain myself to you and everyone else I left behind then, but I didn't know what was waiting for me in North Carolina. I arrived in Chapel Hill in the early afternoon. I went directly to the address that was provided to me in the letter. I had no clue what to expect when I rang the doorbell. A woman wearing a blue head scarf that matched her eyes, my eyes, answered the door. We instantly knew who the other was. She welcomed me in into her home then without any formal introductions, she pulled me into a tight embrace and started crying tears of happiness. After what felt like hours, she ushered me into her living room, poured us both a glass of iced tea and the questions began. First I talked about myself: my life in Albuquerque, my parents, basketball, my friends, my girlfriend." He squeezed her hand, managing to get a faint smile out of her.

Sharpay finally found her words. "I know all that about you. Tell me about your mom, I mean birth mom." She had to add birth part because Lucy would always be Troy's mom in her eyes and his she hoped.

"Well her name is Heather Bradford. She was twenty years old when she got pregnant with me, and she and my father could not handle a baby at that age so they looked into adoption. She said she selected my parents because she knew they were perfect and would provide a loving home for me. Apparently my mom sent her pictures throughout the years even though she had opted to not contact me. She got married three years after having me to different guy than my birth father. They were actually still married when I got there, his name is Christopher, and they have a daughter together, Michelle. Then we got into her illness. She stopped responding to treatments and the doctors told her she only had a few months to live so that's why she contacted me. That's when I decided I was going to stay in North Carolina, and again I didn't tell anyone because I thought I could come back after a few months and fix it all then. Except a few months went by, and Heather was still fighting for her life so I had to come up with a new game plan. I was already set to go to UNC. I skipped out on the dorm and just continued living with Heather when classes started in the fall. First semester went great, I had this new family I knew nothing about and we were getting on perfectly. I honestly was so wrapped up I forgot about home. But once Christmas hit, everything went to hell. Christopher walked out on Heather, saying he couldn't take it anymore, leaving me to take care of my mom and sister alone. I took a job as a busboy to help out financially. I balanced schoolwork, basketball, a job and Heather and Michelle until I graduated college. Once I had my degree, I took a job at a local elementary school as a Phys. Ed teacher and worked as a bartender at night. Heather's health started deteriorating then. She went downhill fast. She passed away in June of last year, leaving me as the only family Michelle had. I supported the two of us, while I helped Michelle get ready for college. She was offered a full ride to NYU. She started there in the fall. Right now she's living with a friend in a dorm with a great view of the city, and she loves it. She calls me weekly to check in, which is probably the phone call you answered." He let out a huge breath after his short, yet long-winded version of his six years away, waiting for Sharpay's response.

She sat in silence for a few moments, digesting everything Troy had just told her. What he did was admirable. It must not have been easy to step up and take care of his mom and sister, but she couldn't understand how he could give up his life and start a new one just like that. Was there even a point for him to be back? Why let Michelle live on her own? Why not move to New York with her? Why was he able to forget about Jack and Lucy, the people he called Mom and Dad all his life, for six years then just pick up where he left off? What was so wrong about his life that he gave it up in the first place? All these questions ran through her head as Troy watched her. "I guess the only thing I can say is why?"

It was Troy's turn to be silent and think. He was expecting a much stronger reaction out of the fiery Sharpay Evans. Where was the rage? All he got was sadness and confusion from her eyes. "Why?"

"Yeah, why?" She stood up and started pacing in front of him. "Why bother coming back at all when you had this whole new life? What made your life in Albuquerque acceptable again? The people who raised you are suddenly okay now? You want to be with me again? You told me what you did for six years Troy, and who you spent them with, but you never said what motivated you to come back. Did a piece of the sky fall on your head and knock some sense into you, saying hey there's a lot of people out there you left behind and you might want to go check on them? But for god sakes Troy, your dad had a heart attack six months ago, and your mom was frantic because she was terrified that you wouldn't be able to say good-bye if he didn't survive his surgery! So please tell me what the fuck brought you back here because I honestly don't see the point of it!" Angry tears streamed down her face as she finished. Talking about the panic that went on during Jack Bolton's heart attack was not an easy topic. He almost died on the operating table, and Sharpay swore that she would never forgive Troy if his father didn't make it because she knew the unbearable pain it would cause Lucy.

Troy's heart started aching as he watched Sharpay cry. He hated to see her hurting, and that's why he knew he had to tell her what caused him to leave in the first place. "If you want to know why, I'll tell you." He tried to keep his voice even as he spoke. "I swore to my dad I would never tell anyone this, but I can't keep it from you. You see when that letter came; my dad saw how upset I was by it and the news that I was adopted. Being adopted and never getting the opportunity to meet his birth mother himself, he encouraged me to go and meet Heather so I wouldn't have the same regrets he does. He came up with the plan for my leaving. He thought to make it easiest for my mom, it would be best to sneak away while she was asleep. He also insisted I leave before graduation so I wouldn't get caught up in all the craziness of having one last summer with our friends and end up not going at all. He thought it would be better if I didn't leave any word of where I was going, but I couldn't do that to my mom. I had to leave her something so she wouldn't have a total meltdown. I wrote the letter myself and addressed it to both my mom and dad to protect Dad from Mom's wrath. He drove me to the bus station that night, bought me the ticket then wished me good luck. Before he left I begged him to tell you how sorry I was for leaving you without a good-bye, but I know he didn't do that because he was scared you would convince me to come back before I even met Heather. I kept in contact with my dad the entire time I was gone. He's been acting all along. He knew I was coming back, but he couldn't tell anyone even though he was the one who asked me to come home."

At Troy's pause Sharpay jumped in. "No wonder he reached out to me when I moved back after college. He felt guilty for my broken heart and was trying to mend it."

Troy nodded his head solemnly. "Yeah, he still feels like the worse person ever for lying to you and my mom. It really got to him after the heart attack. He called me and begged me to come back right away. I promised to come as soon as I could, but I had to get Michelle set up first then get Heather's house packed up and sold. I couldn't just run away from my new responsibilities."

"Does your mom know about Michelle?"

"Yeah, she's dying to meet her. She's gonna come here for Christmas. My mom has been busy converting the guest room into a bedroom for her so she'll have a place to stay over breaks and stuff. Michelle is really thrilled about it too. She can't wait to meet Mom and Dad. I can't wait either. I've wanted my parents and her to meet for a very long time, but I couldn't leave Heather since I never knew if tomorrow was going to be a good day or a bad day." He shuddered a bit as the memory of Heather's battle for her life came back.

"Wow," she ran her fingers through his still wet hair, "you really stepped it up. I bet your mom and dad are very proud."

"I'm more concerned about how you feel." He cupped the side of her face.

"I guess I still don't understand what's keeping you here. What's stopping you from just packing up and leaving again?"

He smiled at her worried face. "That's easy. I realized the life I wanted was here the minute I stepped off the plane. I was just lucky that the woman I wanted to spend it with was also here."

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "You were going to come looking for me?"

He cupped her face with both hands. "I'd travel the globe for you, baby." He pulled her down into a searing, passionate kiss.

They found themselves falling backwards onto Sharpay's bed, removing what little articles of "clothing" they were wearing, Troy's dress shirt on Sharpay and the towel that was still slung around Troy's waist. This round of lovemaking was very intimate as they connected on a whole new level.

* * *

After lying in each other's arms in comfortable silence, the two lovebirds had to disentangle and start the day since they had promised to meet Troy's parents for lunch the previous day.

They took their time getting out of bed though, both feeling far too comfortable to move at a normal pace. Though a glance at the clock got Sharpay moving.

She shot up holding the bed sheet to her chest. "Holy crap! It's 12:30! We have to meet your parents in a half hour!"

"Relax," Troy placed a comforting kiss on her shoulder, "I'll call them and tell them we woke-up late while you go shower, except I'll need to use your phone." A cheshire grin broke out on his face as Sharpay blushed with embarrassment.

"I'll buy you a new one." She leaned in to kiss his lips. "You should call Michelle too while you're at it, and please tell her I'm extremely sorry if I came off as rude."

"Will do." Troy crawled out of bed, picking his boxers up from the floor as he headed to the living room to use the phone.

Sharpay made her way to the shower. She allowed it to steam up before getting in. She took her time, enjoying the hot water soothing her sore muscles.

When she got out twenty minutes later, she decided to let her hair air dry which would make it hang in its natural curls. She decided to keep her outfit simple, going with a faded pair of jeans, a pink t-shirt and a zip-up hoodie to go over it. She pulled her hair into a low ponytail as she went looking for Troy. She could hear him talking as she walked towards the living room.

"Yeah, that's the girl from the picture I carried around in my wallet and stared at obsessively when I thought no was looking. Is she my girlfriend? I think she's more than a girlfriend, Shell. Of course I want to marry her!"

Sharpay giggled and hoped Troy didn't hear it. He just sounded so cute expressing his love for her.

Troy did hear her and decided to have some fun since she was clearly listening in on the conversation. "I was actually planning on asking her to go to Vegas tonight. I know it's tacky, but why should we wait?"

Sharpay stormed into the living room. "Troy Bolton, if you think I would hop on a plane to Vegas with you, you are seriously disturbed! I am a much classier girl than that! We haven't even been back together yet for twenty-four hours! Are you crazy?"

Troy burst into hysterical laughter. Sharpay was hilarious when she was fuming, and Michelle was telling him off on the phone, claiming he was an idiot and she was glad Sharpay just yelled at him. He placed the phone back to his ear, to reassure his sister. "I was only kidding, Michelle. I was just playing a joke on Sharpay. What do you mean put her on? Okay fine." He handed the phone over to a still angry Sharpay. "My sister wants to talk to you." He headed to the bathroom to take another shower since his first one proved to be pointless.

She wrenched the phone from his hand. "Hello? Yes, I know you're brother is an idiot. I learned that at an early age."

"I heard that!" He yelled from the bathroom.

"Oh trust me, he'll be paying for that little stunt later. Oh you have to go? I feel like we were just started talking. Alright Michelle, well hopefully I'll talk to you again soon, and I'm very sorry for earlier. Bye." Sharpay put the phone down and went to get something to drink from the kitchen. It started ringing again when she came back into the living room.

"Hello?"

"Sharpay?" responded Lucy's voice. "Where are you guys? You were supposed to be here half an hour ago!"

She glanced in the direction of the bathroom. "Troy didn't call you? We woke-up late since we got in early this morning. We'll be there soon. Troy is just finishing up in the shower."

"Alright dear, we'll see you soon then."

"See you soon, Lucy."

She hung up the phone once again. "Troy Bolton!" she screamed since the shower had just turned off.

He stuck his head out the door. "What?"

"You didn't call your mother to tell her we were running late?" She placed her hand on her hip and put a stern look on her face.

"Whoops, must have skipped my mind." He shrugged his shoulders and closed the bathroom door again.

Sharpay let out a growl of frustration. "Men!"

* * *

They walked up the front steps of the Bolton house holding hands knowing Jack and Lucy would be thrilled at the knowledge they had gotten back together. Jack was in the living room watching an old basketball game on ESPN when they walked in. The delicious aroma that wafted through the air indicated that Lucy was hard at work in the kitchen. Though hearing the front door open brought her into the living room. A huge grin broke out on her face when she caught sight of the couple's interlaced fingers.

"So there's hope that you'll be our daughter-in-law after all." She ran to Sharpay and pulled her into a tight hug that left Sharpay struggling to breathe.

Jack pulled his eyes away from the TV once his wife started squealing about a wedding. Noticing Sharpay's struggle against Lucy's death grip, he quickly came to Sharpay's rescue since Troy was too busy laughing at the sight. "Luce, if you smother her she won't be our daughter-in-law."

Lucy immediately loosened her hold and gave Sharpay one final squeeze before pulling away.

"So we can finally sit down to that meal you wouldn't let me have until they got here?" Jack gestured to the dining room with his head.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yes dear, we can eat now."

Jack quickly took his seat at the head of the table. While Troy and Sharpay followed after being told by Lucy that help in the kitchen was not required. Lucy placed a steaming casserole dish of homemade macaroni and cheese on the already set table. Jack lunged for the spoon and placed a heap of it on his plate. Lucy shot him an angry glare when she came back from getting the rolls she had made to go with the meal. He was too busy shoveling the food into his mouth to notice it.

"You would think he doesn't eat." She realized she spoke too soon when Troy repeated the actions of his father. She tossed a few rolls at them in hopes of saving a couple for herself and Sharpay. "Like father, like son."

Sharpay giggled. She had eaten enough meals with the Bolton's to know this happened at every single one, and Jack and Troy never seemed to get her message. Lucy knew she was speaking to deaf ears when food was in front of her boys, but it was almost a ritual to scold them before helping herself.

Things calmed down around the table after both men gorged themselves on mac & cheese, but they did leave room for Lucy's famous double fudge brownies.

Between bites of his brownie, Jack turned to Troy and asked, "So Son, we can expect you to be moving out soon, right?"

Troy was about to take a bite of his second brownie but set it back down before answering. "Kicking me out already after I just moved back home, Dad?"

"Yeah, Jack, "Lucy chimed in, "he just got back. There's no need for him to leave. Ignore your father, Troy."

Troy listened to his mother and immediately took a bite of the brownie sitting in front of him. Sharpay was munching on her brownie as she listened to the conversation going on before her.

"I was just saying since he and Sharpay are together now and he plans on popping the question soon, wouldn't it make sense for them to move into together?" Though his question was directed to Lucy, it was Troy and Sharpay who reacted by practically choking on their brownies. Lucy rushed to refill their glasses with water while Jack laughed hysterically.

Troy was the first to recover. "Way to be subtle, Dad. I think it's up to Sharpay if we were to move in together. After all it is her apartment. Though I wouldn't be opposed to the idea." He said the last part to her with adoration as he gave her knee a gentle squeeze.

"You're proposing!?" She blurted out in response.

All three Bolton's froze. They all though that part of Jack's question had gone unnoticed.

Troy carefully thought about his word choice. One wrong syllable and this whole relationship could go hell even though it just started. "Like I said earlier, you are the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with, but I am nowhere near proposing anytime soon."

Relief washed over Sharpay's face. Sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Troy too, but marriage was a giant step that neither of them was ready for. They still had a lot to figure out, which would all happen with time. "Thank god!" She placed her hand over her racing heart. "I was a bit freaked out for a bit."

"It's okay." Troy squeezed her knee again for reassurance. "Though apparently my father is in some big hurry to get rid of me." He turned his attention back to Jack.

"I don't want to get rid of you, Son. I'm happy you're back. I guess I'm just as bad as your mother when it comes to having Sharpay as an official member of the family." He winked at the blonde.

"I heard that, Jackson!" Lucy shouted from the kitchen.

"Did I say something wrong, dear?" He feigned innocence.

She came out pointing her finger with a dish towel slung over her shoulder. "Don't you play innocent with me Mr. I'm Just As Bad As Your Mother." She went back to the dishes with a huff.

Troy turned to Sharpay with a serious face. "You sure you wanna become a member of this crazy family?" He then gave her his Cheshire grin.

She grinned back then addressed them all. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

**There you have it!**

**For all the Troypay lovers like me I hope you loved this chapter too. It's definitely my personal favorite so far lol.**

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews on that last chapter!! It was the best response I ever got!! Please keep it up!! The reviews are definitely what got this chapter posted so quickly!! **

**Can't wait to hear what you guys think! Thanks so much for reading!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM**

After all the excitement at the Bolton house, Sharpay went back to her apartment to get ready for Kaci's dress fitting. She really just wanted to spend the rest of the day relaxing on the couch with a good sappy movie so she could let the events of the previous twelve hours sink in, but she couldn't blow off one of her closest friends.

She opened the door to her second bedroom which served as a studio to house the dresses she made. The wedding dress was currently being worn by a mannequin. Sharpay gave it a once over; the gown was nearly complete even though Jason had only proposed last week. She had started on it a year ago on a whim, when Kelsi saw the sketch and encouraged her to make the dress. When Kaci caught sight of it on a visit to Sharpay's apartment, she insisted it be hers. The fitting today was to get the dress fitted on Kaci so Sharpay could get started on the alterations right away.

The buzzer went off a few minutes later indicating Kaci had arrived. Sharpay let her up and told her to let herself in. She had just grabbed a Diet Pepsi from the fridge when she heard two voices in her living room. She was surprised to find Jason standing there with Kaci.

"Hey guys," she greeted with confusion in her voice.

"Don't worry Shar, Jason was just leaving." Kaci went to push him towards the door, but he wouldn't budge.

"Jase, you know it's bad luck to see the dress before the wedding day."

"I'm not here for the dress. I'm here for Troy since he stayed over last night." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

That gesture earned him a smack upside the head from Kaci and gasp of horror from Sharpay.

"Ha, I told you he stayed the night!" He pointed his finger excitedly at Kaci while jumping up and down like a five-year old.

"Good-bye Jason." Kaci shoved him out the door and locked it once she closed it. "Sorry about him," she sighed.

Sharpay shrugged her shoulders. "It's Jason. I've learned to ignore him. You will too in due time." She patted her friend's shoulder affectionately then headed off towards the studio.

Kaci placed her purse on the couch then followed. "So was he right?" she asked excitedly while standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

Sharpay turned to face her with a guilty smile on her face.

The brunette's eyes lit up. "Oh my god! You guys totally did it last night!"

Sharpay opened her mouth to protest but was cut off.

"It's written all over your face so don't even try to deny it."

The blonde's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"So what's the story with you two now? Is he gonna move in?"

"You're the second person to ask that today! Undress so we can get this dress on you."

Kaci went to change behind the curtain that was set up in the corner. "You didn't answer the question." She came out wearing the slip she had been told to bring and was immediately attacked with the gown. She stepped into it as Sharpay carefully held it open.

After zipping it up, she responded. "No, Troy is not moving in anytime soon. Though Jack appeared to be in a hurry to get him out of the house." She met the brunette's gaze in the mirror, who was admiring herself. "This looks so great on you."

"Doesn't it?" Kaci did a little twirl, causing the gown to flow out along the bottom. "I bet Lucy freaked when Jack suggested Troy leaving."

Sharpay was looking at Kaci from across the room to check the length of the dress. "I'm gonna have to make this a little longer so you can wear heels with it."

Kaci glanced down and saw that the gown was indeed the perfect length with no shoes so it would need to be lengthened. "You're right."

"And Lucy didn't freak," Sharpay added as she handed off a pair of heels, "but you could see in her eyes the panic of having him leave the nest again."

"That's understandable after him being gone for so long, but she does know she'll have to let him go eventually, right?"

"Oh she can't wait for the day to call me her daughter-in-law officially."

"Even though you basically are a member of the family already."

Sharpay gave Kaci a look that indicated she knew she was right. "Jack let it slip that Troy was planning to propose."

"No way!" Kaci gushed. "That is awesome! You guys should so get married! When is he gonna pop the question?"

"Calm down. It's not happening anytime in the immediate future. We haven't even been back together for twenty-four hours yet."

"Phish," Kaci waved her off, "you guys were still so together during that six year separation. You turned down hundreds of guys, or when you did accept a date, it ended after one because they didn't compare to Troy. And I know for a fact that Troy never even so much as glanced at another girl while he was in North Carolina."

Sharpay placed her hands on her hips defensively. "And how would you know that?"

"Because he told me." Kaci replied as if it were obvious with an eye roll. "I told him that if he ever hurt you, especially if whatever trashy baggage he left behind turned up again, I would kick his ass, and he assured me that was never any girl but you on his mind the entire time."

Sharpay didn't bother responding because she knew Kaci wouldn't make something like that up. She could always tell when someone was lying. There would be no way for Troy to let anything slide past her.

"Well this is just fabulous!"

"Yeah, you look amazing in this dress."

"Not the dress, goofy. You're gonna get engaged in the near future, and your fashion career is about to take off. You're just getting started, sweetie."

"I'm hoping my fashion career will take off. The critics have to like the dress first."

"They'll love it especially after it's featured in the January issue of Vogue."

Sharpay stopped pinning the back of the dress and met Kaci's gaze in the mirror. The brunette had a goofy grin plastered on her face. "Did you just say Vogue?"

"Yup, the editors have been begging me to do a feature on my wedding preparations. I agreed under the condition that they feature my dress designer as well, and they were more than happy to oblige. They want to do an article on just you."

"Oh my god! No way!"

"Way! You're finally going places."

Sharpay was ecstatic with the news. She hugged Kaci in excitement, briefly forgetting the dress now had about a dozen pins stuck in it until Kaci cried out in pain. She couldn't believe she was going to be in Vogue. She was finally going to be the designer she always aspired to be.

* * *

Troy was not thrilled to be woken up from his mid-day nap by his ringing cell phone. He checked the caller ID to see if it was Sharpay, the only person he would interrupt his nap for, even though she was the reason he was sleeping in the first place. He had stayed awake the entire night just watching her sleep in his arms to make sure it was not a dream that he would have to wake up from.

Seeing it was Jason, he hit ignore, put the phone on silent then rolled back over and went back to sleep.

Fifteen minutes later his pillow was roughly pulled from beneath his head and he was smacked with it. "What the hell?" He sat up to discover Jason standing in his room, holding his pillow. "What are you doing?"

"Waking your sorry ass up. Is there a reason why you're asleep in the middle of the day?" The question was more suggestive than an inquiry.

"Yes Jason, Sharpay and I are together now go back home and let me sleep." He ripped his pillow from Jason's hands.

"No, Kaci is off at Sharpay's for some dress fitting so we're gonna have a guys' night."

"It's 4:00 in the afternoon."

"So we'll get started a little early. Get up! We'll go shoot some hoops just like we did in the old days." He picked up a basketball from the floor and twirled it on his finger.

Troy got out of bed begrudgingly. He stuffed his feet into his gym shoes then grabbed the ball from Jason's finger and walked out of the room.

"Hey!" Jason called after him.

Troy just ignored him. He went downstairs, through the living room and kitchen and went out the back door to the basketball court in the backyard.

After watching Troy make a three-point shot, Jason stepped up for his turn. He went for a three-pointer too, and the ball went through the net with a swish. "Gotta love that sound," he sighed.

Troy caught the rebound. "Yeah, I miss my days on the court." The ball sailed through the air and landed in the net for another three-pointer.

Jason grabbed the ball as it fell. "Then why did you give it up?" He went in for a lay-up and caught his own rebound.

Troy gave a look that said "Isn't it obvious?"

"Sharpay," Jason answered matter of factly.

"Yeah, I turned down the L.A. Lakers for her." He stole the ball from the distracted Jason.

"Now's that love." His voice was filled with admiration.

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "It wouldn't be right to play professionally if I didn't have her by my side. I had several offers over the years."

"And you turned all of them down for her!?"

"Not exactly." Troy moved the orange ball from hand to hand nervously.

"What do you mean?" Jason could tell the conversation was taking a serious turn, and he had a feeling about what Troy was going to say.

His feeling was correct when Troy began explaining where he had been for the past six years. The boys sat down on the court. The basketball was long forgotten on the lawn. Jason just listened intently and nodded at the right times. He always knew Troy had a good reason for up and leaving without a goodbye. He just couldn't understand why Coach Bolton insisted it be that way.

When Troy finally finished, Jason glanced at his watch. "The Lakers are on in twenty minutes. Wanna head over to Murphy's and grab pizza and a beer?"

"Sure."

Before leaving they performed their secret handshake that they created in third grade then gave each other a manly hug. It was their silent way of saying the past was now behind them.

* * *

Kaci and Sharpay decided to have a girls' night in to celebrate the Vogue feature. They cracked open a bottle of red wine, ordered a pizza and put the latest Kellan Lutz movie in the DVD player. With their men not around, they needed some eye candy to drool over.

The buzzer rang twenty minutes later. Assuming it was the pizza delivery boy, Sharpay let them in without asking who it was. She unlocked the door so she could easily open it to receive the pizza. Both she and Kaci nearly jumped out of their skin when the door opened five minutes later.

"Hey girls!" Jason's smiling face greeted as he walked into the living room holding a twelve pack of beer.

Kaci chucked a pillow at him. "You scared the shit out of us! Don't you know how to knock?"

Troy followed in, narrowly missing getting hit by the pillow Sharpay had thrown at Jason's head. "Whoa, hold your fire! We brought you ladies dinner." He held up two pizza boxes. "And you really shouldn't leave your door unlocked, Shar. Anyone could walk in here." He placed the boxes on the coffee table and sat down in the arm chair.

Sharpay huffed and rolled her eyes.

"What!?" Both guys yelled at the same time.

"We thought you were the pizza guy when the buzzer rang. I unlocked the door so I could just grab our food and send the dorky teenager on his way. We freaked when the door just opened. Then it was you two doofuses walking in." She smacked Troy with a pillow in the arm.

He feigned pain, though he hadn't felt a thing to humor Sharpay.

"Yeah," Kaci agreed though she directed it towards Jason. She gave him an elbow to the stomach.

"Well sorry," he groaned, "we were just trying to do something nice for our girls."

The obnoxious sound of the buzzer ringing again, prevented either girl from coming up with a retort. Sharpay got up again and asked who it was before letting them up to make sure it was the pizza this time. It was and minutes later a third pizza was added to the table.

"Guess we all had the same idea," Troy mused.

"Are we just going to stare at the boxes or are we going to eat the food?" Jason asked as he salivated over his favorite aroma.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "I'll grab us plates and napkins before Jason drools all over the pizzas." She got up and headed to the kitchen. She returned with paper plates and napkins and another bottle of wine for her and Kaci. "Try not to get anything on my couch, Mr. Cross," she warned as she handed him a plate.

With the boys distracted by the pizza and beer, Kaci held up her glass to Sharpay who was refilling her own. "So much for an evening with Kellan Lutz."

Sharpay laughed and nodded her head in agreement before grabbing the remote and putting the Lakers game on the TV for the guys.

Once all three pizzas were polished off, Sharpay started cleaning up because she couldn't stand a mess. Troy immediately put his beer down and started helping. She gave him a smile of gratitude which he gave a wink back to.

Alone in the kitchen, Troy took the opportunity to properly greet his girlfriend with a hello kiss.

"What was that for?" she giggled.

"I didn't get a chance to do it earlier when I came in."

"Oh." She couldn't finish her sentence because his lips were on hers again.

He pulled away with a satisfied smile. "And that was an apology for ruining your evening with Mr. Hot-shot Hollywood. We didn't mean to crash your girls' night."

"Yeah, what happened to your boys' night?" She stuffed the pizza boxes into the garbage bag he was holding open.

"Murphy's was packed so we just grabbed a couple pizzas and twelve pack for ourselves before heading over here to surprise you girls."

"That was very sweet of you, even if you did scare the crap out of us and interrupted our celebration."

"Walking right in was all Jason. I merely followed." He held up a hand in defense. "And what celebration?"

Sharpay met his curious eyes with her sparkling ones. "My dress is going to be featured in Vogue! Well Kaci's dress designed by me, but whatever I'm gonna be interviewed by the greatest fashion magazine out there!" She clapped her hands excitedly.

"That's awesome, baby!" He dropped the full garbage bag and pulled her into a hug. "Congratulations!"

"I can't believe it! My fashion career could be potentially starting!" she squealed.

"No, you're fashion career is starting." Troy replied sternly though he had a huge smile on his face.

* * *

Troy and Sharpay laid in her bed wide awake holding each other close after their personal celebration of Sharpay's news.

Sharpay was drawing lazy circles on Troy's chest as she thought about her future. "You know what?" she asked after a few more moments of silence.

"Hmm?" Troy was about to fall asleep before she started talking.

"Maybe you moving in isn't such a bad idea after all. I mean you'll probably be spending most nights here anyways so why not?"

Troy was now fully awake again. "I was actually thinking about that."

"You were?"

"Yeah, and I think we should wait."

"Oh." Sharpay didn't hide her disappointment.

"Because I think we should shop around for something bigger so we won't have to worry about it later when we're trying to figure out where to live after our wedding."

Sharpay turned around to face him, slightly pushing herself up. "What do you mean by bigger?"

"Like a condo or a starter house, somewhere so we could get a dog."

"A dog, huh? That's quite a commitment."

His chesire grin broke out on his face. "I just said we should start looking at houses together and you're worried about my wanting a dog?" He started twirling a stray curl of her hair around his finger.

"Not worried, just surprised. You're really in this for the long haul."

"And you're not?"

"Are you kidding me? I want it all!" She kissed his lips.

Troy gave a brief chuckle. "I love you, Sharpay Evans."

She snuggled back down against his chest. "I love you too, Troy Bolton."

**Well there you have it, another chapter. It a little uneventful, but things are about to get juicier!!!**

**Please review!!! They mean a lot!!!**

**Thanks so much!!!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own the HSM movie or its characters. They are sole property of Disney. I also do not own the songs "Journey to the Past" or "Once Upon a December" from the Anastasia movie soundtrack. **

Shayne and Reed had re-established their friendship for the most part over the past several weeks. They had yet to discuss why their friendship had ended for the past few years, but it was a touchy subject for both of them. Neither one was willing to bring it up. Even though they knew it was inevitable. Reed especially wanted to solve this problem since his feelings for Shayne continued to grow while his concern for his reputation seemed to decrease. Shayne, however, continued to insist that they keep their friendship as under wraps as possible. Reed didn't like it, but he agreed. If only he could understand the torment she underwent when she spent half the day in his favorite sweatshirt, especially from his teammates and supposed "best friends."

Reed came into the theater determined to put an end to what he now called Shayne's nonsense because he had something important to discuss with his leading lady. He was the first to arrive for his lunch time rehearsal with Shayne. In the weeks they had been practicing, he had never beaten her to the auditorium. She came bustling in before he could even ponder where she was.

"Hey!" She greeted rather enthusiastically. "I just got the sheet music from Cole. We can start working on the songs today!" She placed the sheets of notes above the piano and studied them so she would know what to play. Reed stayed back, freaking out at the thought of having to sing. He was not at all comfortable with the idea.

Shayne glanced over her shoulder and noticed his paled expression. "What's wrong?" Her voice was filled with concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

Reed tried to regain his composure. He did not want to show his fear to the theater expert so he just grabbed his script and joined her at the piano. Too bad Shayne was not going to let the mini freak out go. "What's up with you?" She nudged his shoulder playfully.

Reed ran his hand over his face in frustration with a heavy sigh. "I'm not too keen to the whole singing thing. It's the part I've been dreading most." He met her gaze with his own nervous one.

"What are you talking about? You have a great voice! You have nothing to be worried about!"

Reed's nervous expression didn't change.

Shayne decided to cut him a break. "Tell you what," she started rifling through the music, "I'll sing one of my solos first and then we'll work on one of your songs. What do you say?"

Reed knew there really wasn't a choice. Ms. Evans had already warned the entire cast that they were going to start incorporating the songs into rehearsals after school today. He figured if Shayne was willing to put herself out there and sing just in front of him when he hadn't exactly been the best audience in past years, he could suck it up and sing too. It would probably be a lot easier with just her as his audience. "Alright sounds good." He offered up a warm smile of gratitude.

Shayne returned the smile. "Great!" She held up two song selections. "Which would you like to hear: "Journey to the Past" or "Once Upon a December"?"

Not knowing the songs, Reed pointed to the one in her right hand. She glanced at the title on the front. "'Once Upon a December' it is!" She set the music out in front of them. "Think you can turn the pages for me?" A sassy smirk was set on her mouth.

Reed snorted his amusement. "I think I can manage." His voice was overly egotistical, but his smile indicated it was all in good fun.

Shayne rolled her eyes as her fingers began gliding over the ivory keys in a graceful manner, filling the auditorium with the sweet melody of the song. It sounded like they were inside of a music box. Reed was entranced from the moment she started to sing. There was something about her voice that was captivating. He couldn't look away even if he tried. She would certainly have the attention of the audience when she took the stage.

* * *

Afternoon announcements caused quite the stir among the student body. It was the last day to buy tickets for the Halloween homecoming dance this coming Saturday, and it was common knowledge that Reed Douglas had not asked anyone yet even though he had purchased two tickets on Monday morning according to student council president, Antonia Salvatore. Every single girl was hopeful to be the lucky one to be asked, and the guys were wishing Reed would ask someone already so their date offers would be accepted.

Reed detested that the all of East High felt it was their business to know who he intended to ask to the dance. He felt all of the busy bodies should just shove off and stop trying to pry into his personal life. Yes he bought two tickets two days ago, but he was still trying to find the courage to ask his desired date to go with him.

When the final bell rang, he shoved past the fawning girls, ignoring what would have been inviting offers a few weeks ago. He had changed for the better recently, and a lot of people didn't like it, especially his fellow senior teammates who deeply valued the "playboy" relationship style they were known for. It had been a basketball team tradition to hook up with as many girls as possible without ever getting in a serious relationship. Reed went along with it to a degree by not entering into a long-term relationship, but he left the hooking up with a different girl at every party to the rest of his teammates. In the history of this tradition, there was only one other basketball player who did not take part in it, Troy Bolton; though this was a well-kept secret to maintain the team's reputation.

Standing at his locker after the majority of the crowd had left the hallway gathering his books he would need that night, Reed nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a subtle tap on his left shoulder. Fearing it was another desperate with an offer "to good to refuse," he looked over his shoulder very slowly. He smiled in relief as his eyes met the emerald green ones of Shayne. "Hey," he sighed.

She leaned against the locker next to his. "Hey yourself, you look pretty relieved to see me." She poked his bicep as if trying to pester him.

"I am. I thought you were another annoying girl."

"Wanting to know if she was the lucky lady?"

Reed couldn't help but smile at her playfulness. "Yeah." He closed his locker and the spun the lock to clear it. "I gotta start heading over to the gym for practice." He started walking backwards as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the gym.

Shayne pulled away from the wall of lockers. "I'll walk with you. I've got time to kill."

"Okay."

They walked in a comfortable silence for a few steps, having gotten used to each other's presence in their daily rehearsals both alone and with the rest of the cast.

Reed jammed his hands in his jeans pockets. "Sooooo, you going to the dance?"

"I don't know." She fumbled with the zipper of her messenger bag nervously. "It depends."

Reed stopped walking. "On what?"

Shayne looked up and met his curious grey-blue eyes. "On who asks me."

Reed knew this was his moment. She had pretty much given him an open invitation. However, as he opened his mouth to speak, Coach Bolton came running down the hall. He hurried past them, but shouted over his shoulder, "Reed get practice started! I'll be there in a minute!"

"Alright, Coach," Reed yelled after him as he rounded the corner that led towards Ms. Evans' room. He brought his attention back to Shayne. "That was weird."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I better let you get to practice then. I'll talk to you later."

Reed grabbed her elbow as she turned to leave. "Hang on a sec, I need to ask you something."

She gazed at him expectantly.

"I'm sure you know I have two tickets to the dance."

Shayne rolled her eyes and laughed. Of course she knew. "Yeah…"

Reed took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to go to the dance with me. What do you say?" His stomach did a flip flop once he asked. Her answer would be the moment of truth.

"I'd like that." Her response was simple yet affirmative, but she was really giddy like a little girl on the inside.

Reed felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Really?" He felt the need to double check.

Shayne nodded her head eagerly. "Yes!"

"Great! Look, I gotta get practice started before Coach gets back, but I'll see you at rehearsal later." His speech came out rushed due to the adrenaline rush he was now feeling.

Shayne couldn't help laughing. "Alright, I'll talk to you later. Go!" She shooed him off towards the gym.

Reed gave her a departing smile before running towards the gym. He hadn't felt this happy in a very long time.

* * *

Troy came to a skidding halt in front of Sharpay's classroom. He had run from the gym to catch her before she went home for the afternoon. She didn't look near ready to leave when he walked in the door. She was sitting at her desk staring intently at her laptop. "Hey."

The sound of Troy's voice caused her to jump. She closed her computer hurriedly as he walked towards her desk. "Hey, you scared me."

"Sorry." He sat down partially on her desk. "What were you doing?" He pointed to her computer.

She glanced at it with a guilty expression. She tried to think of an excuse he would buy, though Troy could always tell when she was lying. "I was, um, getting an early start on Christmas shopping?" What should have been a statement was uttered as a question. She bit her lower lip nervously knowing he was on to her now.

"Oh really?" Troy picked up the laptop and opened it. He waited the few required seconds for the screen to load. The web browser was open to an airline website. "Airplane tickets?" He raised his eyebrow curiously. Scanning the page, he saw she was looking up flights to New York. "Planning to go see Ryan and Kelsi?"

"Yeah, I can't wait till Christmas to see them, especially Cameron. Ryan e-mailed me some new pictures today, and he's getting so big! So I thought I'd go there for Thanksgiving and stay for a couple days."

"And you wanted to hide this from me because…" Troy let his sentence trail off hoping she would fill in the rest with an explanation.

"Well, um," Sharpay flicked an imaginary speck of dirt from beneath her french manicured finger. "I was thinking we could go together. Then you won't have to wait till Christmas to see Michelle either, and I'm anxious to meet her." She stopped her reasoning when she saw the huge grin Troy was giving her. "And you totally love the idea." She said it obviously more to herself than to Troy, who started chuckling. "Ass," she smacked his thigh. "I wanted to surprise you!"

"I'm not laughing at you."

Sharpay cocked her head to the side. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really. I'm laughing because I was going to surprise you with the same thing. Michelle and I were talking about it the other day. She's really anxious to meet you too so she suggested we fly out and visit." He took another glance at the computer screen. "Except I don't have that many frequent flyer miles. Geez, you can go around the world and back with all of these!" His eyes got huge when he saw the number.

Sharpay batted her eyelashes innocently. "What can I say? I love my credit cards!"

"Obviously." He jumped up before he could get smacked again. "So we're going to New York for Thanksgiving then, huh?"

"I guess so. Our tickets are only a click away." She placed her index finger on the mouse, waiting for his approval.

Troy gestured to the computer. "Go for it."

Sharpay clicked the mouse, reserving their round-trip tickets to New York City. "So why did you come running in here anyways?" She turned her attention to him.

Troy didn't respond. He was too busy studying the confirmation page that had just popped up, and he did not like what he was seeing. "A 6:00 a.m. flight! Are you kidding me?"

"Oh please, you can sleep on the plane. Get over it!"

"Ugh," he groaned.

"Are you done complaining so you can tell me what you wanted?" She looked at him pointedly, indicating she didn't feel like listening to his moaning and groaning any longer.

"Yeah," he took a seat on his old desk, "I won't be at your place until later. I just found out I have an Athletic Association meeting tonight. God only knows how long that will last." He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"It doesn't matter. I'm starting to incorporate the songs into rehearsals tonight so it will go later. We'll probably end up finished at the same time. Speaking of time," she glanced at the clock, "shouldn't you be starting practice about now?"

"I told Reed to get it started. They'll be fine for awhile, besides its Wednesday. Today is weight training. They know the drill by now."

Sharpay started packing up her desk. "Well, I need to get going anyways. I promised Kaci I would meet her for dinner before rehearsal, and I want to get home and change first."

"Alright," he jumped off the desk, "I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah." She slipped her laptop into its bag.

"Okay, talk to you later."

"Bye."

Normally Troy would kiss her when they had to part, but they had to keep their relationship under wraps at school. It was going well too. They had fallen into a routine over the past few weeks. As it was predicted, Troy was pretty much living at Sharpay's apartment. He spent almost every night there, only going home to sleep when she decided to randomly work on Kaci's dress. They ate dinner with Jack and Lucy twice a week and had Sunday brunch with them too. It worked perfectly for them for the time being, while they were still getting used to the new relationship.

* * *

Troy fumbled with his tie in the bathroom while Sharpay sat at her vanity in sweatpants and a tank top, freshly back from her yoga class, debating whether or not to paint her nails black for the occasion. It was Halloween: the night of the Homecoming dance and Jason's after hour's party at the restaurant.

"You know, this really isn't fair!" Troy shouted across the hall.

"It's called paying your dues, sweetie!" Sharpay yelled back. She decided to be festive and grabbed her black nail polish out of the drawer.

Troy leaned against her bedroom doorframe still attempting to make his tie straight. She was removing her French manicure with a cotton ball and nail polish remover. "But why don't you have to chaperone the dance then? You're still technically a new teacher too," he whined.

Sharpay got up to help him, abandoning her manicure for the time being. She took a hold of the knot he was trying to form. "Because I volunteered for prom, which is a much longer dance f.y.i." She straightened the perfect knot she had just made and smiled with satisfaction.

"But prom is right up your alley so don't even give me that." He flopped down on the bed. "You get to stay home and pass out candy, while I stand around in the gym making sure no one spikes the punch."

"Get up before you get your shirt all wrinkled!" She scolded. When he sat up, she met his eyes in the mirror. "The dance only goes to 10:00. Then you'll come back, change and we'll go to the party at the restaurant where you can drink your way through a case of beer with Jason if you want. I'll even be designated driver for the evening." She rolled her chocolate eyes in annoyance.

Troy got up from the bed. He bent down and kissed the crown of her blonde curls. "I knew there was a reason why I loved you so much."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you better get going before that punch bowl gets spiked."

He placed a hand on her upper back. "I'll see you soon."

She tilted her head up so he could kiss her good-bye. He gave her a gentle peck. "Have fun, sweetie!"

"Try not to eat all the candy before the trick-or-treaters get here!" Troy yelled from the living room.

* * *

The dance was in full swing by the time Reed and Shayne arrived together. Shayne's mom insisted on taking extra photos for Reed's parents who were off on some of excursion, probably buying another time share some place tropical. When they pulled into the parking lot in Reed's Range Rover, Shayne started to have second thoughts and insisted they wait in the car for a few minutes. A few minutes ended up being a half hour, but Reed didn't mind. He spent that time admiring how the red halter dress Shayne was wearing offset her pale complexion and brought out the deep emerald in her eyes. She wore her normally straight auburn hair down in ringlets.

All eyes were on them as they entered the gym hand in hand. Shayne immediately tightened her grip on Reed's hand out of nerves, but he didn't mind. He simply led her through the crowd to a table in the back where they would sit until she was ready to get up and dance. She smiled gratefully at him, appreciating all he was doing.

The gym was decorated to correspond with the holiday to match the small budget. The original planned theme had been A Night at the Oscars, but thanks to the previous student council president's overspending on last year's prom, money was extremely tight. Even though the décor was bland, everyone still dressed as if they were walking the red carpet. The girls had gone all out with their dresses and many forced their dates to do the same.

Reed felt relief wash over him when he caught a glimpse of his friends who had been sucked into dressing to match their dates. He whispered into Shayne's ear, "Thank you for not making me dress like a clown tonight."

Shayne merely laughed her response.

"Do you want some punch or something?"

"Are you kidding? I'm sure someone has spiked it by now."

"I don't know. Coach Bolton seems to be guarding the snack table very carefully." He gestured towards Troy with his head. He was standing behind the fold-out table with his arms crossed over his chest looking very bored.

Shayne giggled as the first slow song of the night started. "How about a dance instead?" she suggested.

Reed stood up from the table and extended his hand. "I thought you'd never ask." With her hand in his, he led them to the center of the dance floor. He placed his hands on her hips gently while she slid her arms around his neck nervously. They kept a fair distance between themselves while they swayed in time with the music, ignoring the gawking that was going on around them.

* * *

They remained on the dance floor until it was time to announce king and queen. Reed led them back to the corner table they had previously occupied. Reed's friends decided to approach them once they were seated so Shayne took the opportunity to excuse herself and go to the ladies' room.

The three senior basketball players took the remaining seats at the table without asking if it was okay. "What's up guys?" Reed played it cool knowing he was about to undergo grief for being there with Shayne.

"What are you doing, man?" Max Danforth, Reed's best friend, inquired.

"I'm sitting here talking to you." Reed replied.

"Don't give me that. You know what I'm talking about. What are you doing here with her?" He seethed the last word and made a disgusted face.

"I'm here with SHAYNE," he annunciated her name, "because I want to be. I don't need your approval to do what I want."

"I think you'll have a hard time doing that frigid bitch."

Reed shot out of his seat, fists clenched at his sides. He dared Max with his stare to stand up and face him. Max stood up calmly. He was never afraid of a challenge to fight. Reed took a step forward, bringing his face closer to Max's. "Don't call her that."

Max held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it. You're not gettin' any with that one. You're wasting your time."

Troy caught sight of his two best basketball players getting ready to take a swing at each from his post behind the refreshments. He bolted over to them before any punches could be thrown. "What's going on here boys?"

Max turned to face his coach. "Nothing Coach, we were through here." He gave Reed a warning with his eyes that said their friendship would be over if he continued hanging around Shayne before departing.

Reed didn't a need a warning. The friendship was over the minute Max started dissing Shayne. "Yeah, we're through," he countered.

"Everything okay?" Troy asked Reed with concern.

"Yeah, fine, Coach."

Troy didn't believe the teenage boy for a minute, but he let the issue go. "Alright."

Shayne returned as Troy was walking away. "What did Coach Bolton want?"

"Nothing. Let's get out of here." He grabbed Shayne's hand and pretty much dragged her out to the parking lot.

She was nearly tripping over her heels with him leading her. "Hey! Slow down! I'm wearing heels here."

Reed stopped abruptly causing her to run into him with full force. He had to grab her to keep her from losing her balance. "Sorry," he mumbled as he set her upright.

"It's okay." She grabbed his elbow to adjust her left shoe, which was slipping off. "What did Max say to you in there that's got you all upset?"

"It's nothing." He turned towards his Range Rover once again, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"Hey, talk to me," she pleaded. "Tell me what's wrong."

Reed let out the huge breath he had been holding. He didn't want their great night to go sour like this, but he didn't have a choice. He needed to make sure he was defending her honor for a reason. "Why does he call you the Frigid Bitch?"

Shayne froze. She swore to herself that she would never tell Reed why she had earned that nickname. Trying to come up with an excuse, she realized she thought she had been protecting herself all these years when in reality she had been protecting Max. After he had destroyed her reputation for almost three years, it was only fair that she return the favor.

"I'll tell you, but can we please go somewhere that isn't the parking lot?" She rubbed her hands over her arms, beginning to feel the chill of the air.

Reed quickly slipped his jacket off and handed it to her like a true gentleman. "We can go to my house. No one is home of course."

Shayne slipped her arms through his suit jacket. It came down to mid-thigh on her. The hem of her dress was barely visible beneath it. "Sure, let's go."

**Well there you have it. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long to get this posted!**

**As always please review!!!! Thanks!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: The characters of HSM are not my property. However, any character non-HSM related and the storyline are my own.**

Troy could not wait to get home when the dance was over. He just wanted to go to Jason's party and unwind since that was what the weekend was meant for. He never intended to chaperone another school dance for the rest of the year.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he reached the third floor quickly. He expected to find Sharpay sitting on the couch ready to go when he walked in, but she was nowhere in sight as he entered. "Shar?" He called out, dropping his keys in the bowl on the table near the door.

Sharpay walked into the living room from the kitchen, munching on a fun size Twix bar. Her black bathrobe was tied securely around her body, not giving away what may be underneath it. "Hey, how was the dance?" She popped the last of her candy into her mouth.

Troy found himself mesmerized by her somewhat state of undress and didn't hear the question.

"Earth to Troy!" she yelled.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Huh?"

"I asked how the dance was."

"Oh, boring as hell except for when I had to break-up an almost fight between Douglas and Danforth. Reed looked ready to bash Max's face in." He glanced at her figure again. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"All I have to do is put my costume on, Troy." She rolled her eyes as if it were obvious then started walking towards the bedroom to finishing getting ready with Troy behind her. "So why didn't you let Reed smash Max's face in? God knows he deserves it. He's just like his brother." She grabbed the garment bag that her costume was hanging in.

Troy shrugged out of his suit jacket and started to remove his tie. "There was no way I was about to let my two best players get suspended for fighting on school property before the season has even started." He glanced at his costume that Sharpay had laid out on the bed for him. "This outfit is so cool."

"I don't even know why you put Danforth on the team. He's such an ass. He walks around like he owns the school because he's a year older than all the other seniors. Being held back a year is nothing to be proud of." She left the bedroom with her garment bag and went across the hall to the bathroom where she left the door partially cracked so she could still talk to Troy.

"Shar, even though the kid is a major egomaniac, he does have major talent on the court. I couldn't not put him on the team, that wouldn't be fair."

"I know. It's just he reminds me so much of Chad and everything he did to me in high school. Just because I refused to sleep with his scrawny ass, he ruined my entire reputation. I actually started living up to my Ice Queen nickname."

"But you two ended up working it out after I threatened to kick his ass." Troy reasoned.

"Yeah, until you left and then he blamed me for it." Sharpay countered. "Do you know that Max has a similar nickname for Shayne? He calls her the Frigid Bitch. I guess it has the same context as Ice Queen. Danforth's and drama queens do not mesh well together." She emerged from the bathroom and stood in the bedroom doorway.

Troy had just finished putting his hat on his head when he turned around to face her. The topic of their conversation was forgotten as he admired her. Her body was hugged in all the right places by her pink suit with black pinstripes. She made quite the sexy mafia princess with her pink fedora sitting strategically on her head. Troy also couldn't help noticing how her cleavage stood out beneath the jacket. He didn't know she was wearing quite the surprise beneath it for later that evening.

Sharpay couldn't help grinning as he checked her out. She gave him a once over as well, inwardly laughing at how cheesy he looked in his mafia gangster suit with big shoulder pads. They would be quite the pair at the party.

* * *

Reed's house was completely dark except for the porch light, when he pulled into the driveway. Shayne had never seen it look so gloomy. She remembered spending days here as a kid when their parents used to be best friends and the big house was a home instead of a house. Everything changed when they were ten. Reed's mom caught his dad in a rather compromising position with the maid bent over his desk. She sued him for all he was worth and won. She remarried six months later to man twenty years younger, who she spent months at a time circling the globe with, spending her money in obscene amounts.

Reed led the way inside, flipping on lights so neither one of them would run into a coffee table containing some of his mother's precious African tribal masks or Greek vases. Shayne barely had a chance to take in the changes to the house as Reed hurried her towards the basement. It was like he didn't want her to see the changes.

The basement was the only normal room in the house besides Reed's bedroom, and Reed wanted to be a gentleman since a bedroom sent obvious messages. He ushered Shayne to sit down on the huge black leather couch while he went to the mini fridge he had set up down there to get them both a drink.

Shayne could sense his unease and nervousness. This would be their first deep conversation in years, and she was feeling the tension too, especially since she had to do most of the talking. Figuring they were in for a long night, she kicked off her heels and tucked her feet beneath her. Once she was comfortable, she found a water bottle being shoved at her by Reed. Though she wasn't thirsty, she took it anyways, tucking it next to her.

Reed sat down on the opposite side of the couch, keeping a safe distance for the time being. His dress shirt sleeves were now rolled up to his elbows and the top two buttons were undone. His tie was abandoned in the backseat of his car somewhere. He sipped his own water absently, not sure what to say.

Shayne decided to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them. "Look Reed, I just think I should get this over with before I lose my nerve."

"Alright, I'm all ears." Reed decided showing that he was supportive would make things easier for her.

She smiled gratefully. After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she took a deep breath and began. "Well, it began and ended the night of the basketball team party freshman year. You introduced to me Max, walked away and that's when he started to work his charm. He pretended to be interested in getting to know me, asking me about myself and drama. We spent the whole night talking. When the party was over, he offered to drive me home since he was the only freshman with a driver's license, and I accepted. But he drove us to The Grove instead."

Reed clenched his hands into fists at the mention of the town's most popular make-out spot.

Shayne could sense the tension coming from him but continued on. "I was freaked out of course but played it cool because Max Danforth appeared to be interested in me. It started off innocent enough then it got out of hand. He got rougher and more insistent." Shayne shuddered as the memories of the night came flooding back. "When I refused, he got mad and pinned me to my seat. He started trying to tear at my clothes, but thanks to my self-defense classes I was able to fight him off. I got out of the car. He told me I just screwed myself over and no guy would ever date me again before speeding off. I called Keegan to come get me. Thankfully he didn't ask any questions or tell our parents. Monday morning I was greeted with the nickname of Frigid Bitch, but everyone viewed me as a slut because Danforth let the entire basketball team know he had scored. It taught me how stupid our school really was because the new nickname meant I didn't give it up, but I didn't say anything. I was more worried about your reaction. The look of disappointment on your face when I walked past you in the hall said it all. You believed your teammate." She turned her gaze to the floor.

"Is that what you thought?" Reed's voice was filled with awe.

She looked up in surprise.

"All this time you thought I believed him?"

Shayne nodded her head dumbly. "Isn't that why you spent these years teasing me?"

"No. I was disappointed in you because you were so spineless. You didn't even try to put the rumors to rest. You just let people think of you as a slut, and you let Danforth ruin your reputation for no reason. I didn't like who you became that day."

"But if you knew Max was lying, why did you ask me why he called me Frigid Bitch?"

"Because I know what it means, I just wanted to make sure it was true."

"So you did think I slept with him!" Shayne accused.

Reed nodded his head slightly. "There was always that possibility in the back of my mind, but I didn't want to believe it. I just had to know for sure." He shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what else to do.

Shayne scooted herself closer. "So you know I would never do that, right?"

Reed gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course. I'm sorry I ever doubted you." He closed the final distance between them. "Can we put these last two and half years behind us now?"

She grinned, beaming with excitement. "I'd like that."

Reed took her hands in his. "There's just one more thing I gotta know before we put this all behind us."

"What's that?" Shayne replied hesitantly.

Reed brought his face closer to hers. "Do you wanna kiss me as much as I wanna kiss you?" he whispered.

"Do you even have to ask?"

That was all the motivation Reed needed to bring their lips together in a gentle first kiss.

**Ok I know it was short, but it works. Now the story can move forward. Sorry for the delay in the update!!**

**Thanks to all of those who have reviewed and put this on alert. The reviews really do help this move along so please leave one!!**

**Thanks again!!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: The characters and ideas of HSM are sole property of the Disney movie. However any original characters and ideas do belong to me.**

Troy had no problem letting loose at the party. He gladly accepted every drink that was handed to him by Jason or one of the other guys. He just wanted to have a good time, and that's what he did until the DJ played the last song of the night.

On the ride home he was extra chatty but didn't show any other signs of drunkenness. He was just confident so Sharpay figured her surprise was still a go. Troy was very touchy-feely throughout the ride home and in the elevator ride up to apartment. However, it all changed once the apartment door was open.

A wave of nausea hit him, and he bolted for the bathroom at lightning speed. Sharpay groaned in annoyance upon hearing his retching sounds. There would be no surprise fun tonight. She'd be lucky if Troy even made it to the bed. She was just happy he had removed his rented suit coat earlier. She would have killed him if he threw up on it.

While Troy made out with the white porcelain toilet, Sharpay grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen, and the antacid and aspirin from the hallway closet. Hearing the toilet flush, she entered the bathroom and placed them on the bathroom sink then took the wash cloth that was hanging up in the shower and soaked it cold water. She put it on Troy's forehead, who currently had the side of his face placed against the coolness of the tiled floor. "Thanks, baby," he mumbled miserably.

"If I help you, think you can make it to the bed?" Sharpay didn't want him to spend the night on the bathroom floor, especially in the odd position he was currently laying in. She refused to listen to him complain about back pain in addition to the killer headache he would have in the morning.

"I think so." He started to sit up, but did it a little too quickly. The room started spinning, and he had to close his eyes tightly to fight off the new wave of nausea.

"Just get up slowly," Sharpay advised.

Troy took her advice. He carefully made it to his knees, waited a few seconds, then used the counter to slowly raise himself to a standing position. He clutched the now cool cloth to his forehead with one hand as he stumbled across the hall to the bedroom. Sharpay walked behind him with a soft hand on the small of his back. When they reached the bed, she made him stand for another moment so she could pull back the covers. Troy tried to kick off his shoes during this time but failed miserably. Sharpay ushered him to lie down and took his dress shoes off for him. He let out a whimper of thanks as she pulled the sheet over his body. She just smiled and took the almost dry cloth from his forehead.

Back in the bathroom, she re-soaked the rag and gathered up the other things she had brought in there for Troy. She put everything on the bedside table for him to find except for the washcloth, which she laid over his forehead again. She placed a trash can next to him in case he couldn't make to the bathroom later. With Troy all set, she grabbed a pair of pj's from her drawer to get ready for bed herself.

Changing, she became a bit pissed that the black negligee she had bought for the evening had gone to waste, especially since the corset top gave her such nice cleavage. She knew Troy would have been knocked off his feet had she not told him to let loose.

* * *

The day the majority of East High had been waiting for finally arrived. It was Spirit Day, and everyone was asked to wear their school colors or school attire. The day also signified the kick off of basketball season. Tonight, the new varsity team would take part in a scrimmage during the Midnight Madness game. The entire school would pack the gym for the introduction of the team and the announcement of team captain, the guy who would lead the Wildcats out of their slump and to the championship under the guidance of their new coach. Alumni basketball players would also be turning up tonight, including Jack Bolton and Jason.

The evening would also be the debut of the new team uniforms that Sharpay had designed. They had been handed out the day before at practice. The team and Troy really liked the finished products until Troy found the receipt sitting at the bottom of the box. Looking at the pricing, he found that the uniforms and sweats had cost a lot more than the number she put on the order forms, meaning Sharpay had probably footed the rest of the bill.

When he confronted her about it, she instantly fessed up. She claimed she did it because the team deserved a fresh start, and in her eyes the extra $200 really wasn't that much for the designs she had worked so hard on.

Though Troy was very grateful, he insisted she be reimbursed from the team account. Sharpay was quick to point out that the team account needed every penny that was in it for travel fees for away games. So Troy said he would pay her out of his pocket, and she refused, saying she would rip up every check he wrote her. This was her gift to the team.

Troy let her think she had won that argument, but he planned on talking to the team tonight about a fundraiser to pay her back. Of course he had to figure out what excuse he was going to use with the guys, but he still had all day.

* * *

The entire varsity team wore their new sweats to school. Everyone commented on how sharp the custom-designed hoodies and pants looked. A few faculty members recognized the Wildcat logo, even though it was a little different. When they caught sight of Sharpay later in the day, they figured it out. The design had come from the team of 2008's warm-up jackets, like the one Sharpay was strutting around in with Bolton emblazoned on the back.

The highlight of the talk of the school that morning was not the new sweats or Sharpay wearing Troy's old jacket but rather the attire of Shayne Murphy. She had come to school that day actually dressed for spirit day. No one had seen her in East High colors since first semester freshman year. She wore dark denim skinny jeans, ruby red ballet flats and Reed's red basketball sweatshirt from last year. She also had white ribbed tank top underneath the hoodie that barely peaked out beneath the oversized article of clothing that had been in her possession since her first official date with Reed as boyfriend and girlfriend. Her auburn hair was pulled into a side ponytail and secured by a white ribbon.

Reed was waiting against her locker as she walked down the hallway ignoring the whispers of the cliques around her.

"Morning beautiful," he greeted as he leaned in to peck her cheek. "You're looking quite stunning in that sweatshirt, I must say."

Shayne rolled her eyes as she opened her locker. "Ok sure, Romeo."

"Seriously, you look far better in it that I ever did."

She closed her locker door and accepted his offered hand. They began walking down the hall towards homeroom with their fingers intertwined. Shayne couldn't help but be suspicious of all of Reed's compliments. He was never this charming. "Ok, I'll bite. What do you want?"

Reed placed his spare hand over his heart in mock offense. "By whatever do you mean?" He fluttered his eyelashes dramatically and rather girly-like.

Shayne's expression said "I'm not buying it."

Reed let out a heavy sigh. "Alright you've got me."

Shayne shook her head in amusement.

"I was thinking since we called off today's lunch time rehearsal that we make our official public debut as a couple in the cafeteria?" He closed his eyes in fear, waiting for the hit to come, but it didn't. Instead she shrugged her shoulders indifferently and led him into the classroom. "Is that a yes then?" he inquired, following her to her desk.

Shayne took her seat before responding. "It's more of a I really don't care. If that's what you want sure. Let's show all of East High that we're a couple, if they haven't figured it out already." She pulled on the red sweatshirt hanging on her form.

Reed gave her a killer smile. "I can't help that I wanna show my girl off, especially when she's the most beautiful one in all the land."

"Quit, quoting your lines and go take your seat." She shooed him off towards his desk on the other side of the room.

* * *

Troy decided to cut the already shortened after-school practice further down to hold a team meeting since there wouldn't be much time before the game. He blew the whistle to get the boys' attention. "Alright guys that's it for now. Everyone take a seat on the bleachers." He was proud that every one of them gathered up the basketballs and put them in the bin before doing as they were instructed and sitting down. "Ok I cut it short to talk to you guys about something. It seems our team account is running a little short these days, and with the new league changes, we're going to be doing a lot more travelling this season than in the past. We need to figure some type of fundraiser to raise money quick. Who's got ideas?"

Random people started shouting out. "Car wash!"

"Bake sale?"

"Carnival!"

"How about a casino night?"

Max Danforth stood up and quieted the team. "Those ideas are amateur, guys. We're the basketball team. We can't be doing some sissy bake sale. We gotta think big!"

"And what would big be, Danforth?" Troy challenged.

Max gave a cocky smirk. "That's easy Coach. A date auction, buy yourself a date with your favorite team member." He pointed to himself. "I'm sure I could bring in quite a bit of money."

"Last I checked prostitution is illegal," Reed countered.

"You've got something better, Douglas?"

"Actually," Reed stood, "I do." He climbed down the bleachers and stood next to Troy. "Alright team, Max was right about thinking big. We've got a lot of people turning out for the game tonight including the alumni. I say we get as many of them as possible to agree to a game with us. We'll announce it before Midnight Madness to get the crowd hyped. And we'll sell tickets to the event for $5.00 a pop instead of the usual $2.00. We could get the old Coach Bolton back to ref the game. What do you say guys?"

Murmurs of agreement sounded throughout the bleachers. The only one not enthused by the idea was Max, but that was to be expected.

"So just to clarify," Troy intervened, "you're suggesting a match-up between the alumni and this year's varsity?"

"No Coach, I'm saying we mix teams. Let's have the alumni play with us instead of against us. There's plenty still left in town: you, Jason Cross, Keegan Murphy and Brian Ferguson. I'm sure we'll be able to find more." He turned towards the team for agreement, many of whom had brothers or cousins who had played for the East High Wildcats too.

"Random teams." Troy let the thought sit for a minute to ponder it. "I like it. You guys get going. I'm gonna go talk to Hendricks about it now to see if we can do it. See you boys tonight!" He bolted from the gym in an attempt to catch the principal before he left for the day.

* * *

Troy checked himself over in the mirror of Sharpay's vanity. He let out a huge breath as he dusted imaginary dirt off of the brand new khaki suit jacket sleeves. Tonight was his debut as new coach of the Wildcats. Sure it was only a scrimmage, but the entire school was about to see the team he had hand-picked in action. He'd be lying if he didn't admit he was as nervous as hell.

"Aww, look at my basketball coach in his new suit."

Troy turned his head to find Sharpay leaning against the bedroom door with a pouty face. She was still in her Spirit Day attire consisting of dark jeans, a red tank top with a bit of rhinestone detailing along the neckline and Troy's old basketball zip-up. Her red Jimmy Choo's had been abandoned by the door the minute she got home, but would of course be back on her feet to complete the outfit for the game.

Troy did a turn for her with his arms out. "How do I look?"

Sharpay stepped forward to straighten his red tie. "Like a coach ready to make his debut." She stood on her tiptoes to give him a brief peck then ran her hands along his shoulders to smooth away the wrinkles that had settled there. "Whoever designed this jacket has impeccable taste."

"Oh, it's this new upcoming designer whose clothes will soon be found on a runway near you."

"Do they design for women too?"

"That's her specialty. She makes all sorts of sexy evening gowns for women everywhere. She's actually trying to break into the wedding dress market right now." Troy gave his Cheshire grin. "You know, in case you were wondering."

Sharpay raised her right eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind in case I ever need to look for a wedding dress."

"You will sooner than you think, baby." He placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Now," he grabbed her shoulders and turned her body in the direction of the door, "we need to get going. So go put on the shoes that you'll be complaining about when we get home later."

Sharpay tossed her loose waves over her shoulder and gave Troy a warning look before departing for the living room.

* * *

The gym was packed from end to end. There was strong exciting energy radiating through the crowd as they waited for the team to make their debut.

Suddenly the lights went out and everyone quieted down. It was the moment they had been waiting for.

Spot lights began dancing in front of the locker room doors while an upbeat song played. "Ladies and gentleman, students of East High," the MC for the night's voice boomed, "welcome to Midnight Madness!"

Screams and applause went up among the crowd.

"Are you ready to meet this year's future champions?"

The fans roared their response.

"Then I give you your East High Wildcats!"

The locker room doors burst open. Max and Reed led the team out into the gym at a steady jog. They were wearing their new warm-ups. They group split into two as they reached the benches. Every guy bounced in nervous-excitement, feeding off the energy around them. Tonight was definitely going to be a good game.

The MC introduced the divided team. They had been split for the scrimmage into Red and White. He started with the White team, led by Max Danforth. The Red team was led by Reed. The crowd bellowed for him the second his name was announced. Everyone was hoping he would be named team captain tonight, everyone except Max of course.

"Without further adieu, I give you all our new coach. He led the Wildcats to back-to-back championships as team captain for two consecutive years. I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about. Let's give it up for Troy Bolton!!!"

The roar of the crowd was deafening as Troy entered the gym. He wanted to clasp his hands over his ears to protect his hearing, but then he remembered the cheering was a compliment. Obviously all of East High had faith in him. He was able to make brief eye contact with Sharpay when the light flashed over the bleachers. She blew him a kiss for good luck from her position directly behind the "home" team. Jason and Kaci were also sitting with her.

Troy made his way to where the MC was broadcasting. He took the microphone that was offered to him and made his way to center court. He took a deep breath before bringing the mike to his mouth. "Thank you all for coming tonight. I'm sure all of you are as anxious as the team for tonight's game. And I promise you it will be getting underway very soon, but first I have a few announcements to make. I think everyone is on the edge of their seat to find out who team captain is. It's been a very tough decision. There are many boys on this team who possess excellent leadership qualities, but one has stood out among the rest since day one. This individual has began several practices on his own without being told, motivates his team mates, and has already earned their respect as a leader. I'm pleased to introduce you to this year's team captain, Reed Douglas!"

Reed felt a huge rush as he joined Coach Bolton at center court. He shook Troy's hand, gave the crowd a brief wave and was about to make his way back to the bench when Troy grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. He gave Troy a confused look, but Troy didn't respond. He just spoke into the microphone.

"Now I'd like our captain to tell you a little about the fundraiser our team will be hosting on January 2. Reed?" Troy handed off the microphone.

Reed cleared his throat nervously. Butterflies filled his stomach as he got ready to address the packed gym. Gazing into the crowd, his eyes found Shayne's. The reassuring nod she gave him was all it took to calm his nerves. "Well, we've decided to change things up a bit. In order to raise some money for the team, we're going to have another red and white game but with the alumni." He paused to let the idea sink in. "Now this won't be your typical alumni vs. the current team game. No, the alumni are going to play with us. So what do you guys say?" He let the crowd cheer while he made his way back to his spot on the bench.

Troy took over again. "Alright, that's all we have. Let's get this game started!" He returned the microphone to the table before taking his position between the two teams. All the boys gathered around him in a semi-circle. "Ok guys, go out there and just have fun. This isn't a real game. It's just a chance to show off your skills so go do it!"

Max took a step forward towards the middle of the half circle. "What team?" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"WILDCATS!"

"WHAT TEAM?"

"WILDCATS!"

"WILDCATS!!"

"GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!"

The referee blew his whistle for both starting lines to take the court. Max and Reed took their positions for the tip off.

"Ready to lose, captain?" Max sneered.

"Not today, Danforth," Reed replied calmly.

"On my whistle then." The ref held the ball between the two boys. He simultaneously blew his whistle and threw the ball in the air.

Jumping for the ball, Reed managed to bring his hand in contact with it first. He smacked it towards Mike Anderson, a junior. However, as he came down, he didn't pay attention to how Max was turning his body, resulting in a collision that sent Reed to the ground.

* * *

**Well that's it for now!! We'll have to find out what happens to Reed in the next chapter!! I know I'm evil with the cliffhanger ending…sorry!!**

**Anyways I just want to say that is chapter is dedicated to my best friend and proofreader as a late birthday present!!!**

**Again thanks to all who reviewed!! Totally appreciate it!!! Let me know what you think of this chapter!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**So sorry for the long wait on this chapter, and sorry it's so short!!!**

Reed shot up in bed. Looking around the room, he realized he was not in his bed in his bedroom at home. The he remembered he had been released into the care of the Murphy family and was staying in their guest room.

The pain he felt beneath his rib cage indicated the incident at Midnight Madness really happened and was not just an awful dream. Settling back onto his pillow though he was now wide awake, he slowly began to remember the silence of gym when he hit the floor, the look of horror on Shayne's face and the smirk of satisfaction on Max Danforth's face before he was thrown out of the gymnasium. He also thought about the trip to the hospital with Coach Bolton since his mom was out of the country as usual. Thanks to Max he had two bruised ribs and would need to spend the next six weeks taking it easy, meaning he wouldn't be able to resume basketball until after the winter holidays.

Reed tried focusing on the positive of the situation. Coach Bolton had assured him that his position as team captain would remain intact and he would be able to sit on the bench during the games. This time off also meant he could spend a lot more time with Shayne, a definite plus.

When it came to Max, Reed could only hope that he would be removed from the team permanently.

* * *

Troy threw his pen down in frustration. The clock on the wall of his office read 7:15, meaning Max was fifteen minutes late for their meeting to discuss his actions at the previous Friday's event.

If it were up to him, Troy would not even be having this meeting and his decision to remove Max from the team would remain intact. However, Max's guardian called the athletic board and demanded Max be given the opportunity to explain himself at a proper hearing. The hearing was supposed to begin at 7:30 in the principal's office, but they were supposed to meet in the coach's office first. Troy decided to go to the office figuring that's where the defendant decided to report.

As he had predicted, two people with unruly hair were sitting in the two chairs that faced the principal's desk.

"Ah, Coach Bolton, I was wondering when you would get here."

Troy debated taking the opportunity to make Max look even worse but decided against it. "Sorry, I got tied up with a phone call about the New Year's tournament."

"Nothing to worry about." The principal waved him off. "I guess we should head down to the conference room and get this meeting started then?"

Max and his guardian rose the same time as the principal. Troy had to stifle a gasp when he saw who Max's guardian was.

"Bolton." Chad Danforth gave him a courteous nod before exiting behind his brother.

Troy returned the greeting, following the group in a bit of a shock. Chad was responsible for his little brother? When had this occurred and where were their parents? The last Troy had heard Chad was heading off to USC to follow in his father's footsteps.

* * *

The meeting ended up being a disciplinary hearing for Max. With charges of unsportsmanlike conduct and physical violence towards a teammate, the athletic board voted that he be removed from the team and banned from attending any basketball games for the rest of the season.

Max took his punishment with a blank expression. To all in the room it looked as if he had accepted it and was remorseful for his actions. Even Troy was impressed by his professional demeanor. Though he'd be lying if he didn't admit he was pleased with the result of the morning meeting.

With the meeting adjourned, Max quickly exited the conference room while Chad stayed behind to thank the board for their time. Troy followed the former team member into the hallway and found him sulking against a random locker. Instead of approaching Max, he turned the other way towards the gym when the teenager's voice stopped him. "This is all your fault."

Troy spun around on his heel. "Excuse me?"

"If you had just picked me as captain, none of this would've happened." Max started approaching Troy in an angry manner. "I'm the best player out there! I have the highest scoring record on the team!"

Troy crossed his arms defensively. "That has nothing to do with being a team captain. You have to have strong leadership qualities to lead your fellow players to victory. All you care about is hogging the ball and scoring as many baskets as possible. Reed at least knows how to pass to an open player when he's being blocked."

"Why you son of a…!"

"Max! Enough!" Chad emerged from the conference room just in time to keep his younger brother from making an even bigger mockery of the Danforth name. "Apologize to Coach Bolton right now."

Max snorted. "Psh, I ain't apologizing to him. He's the reason why college scouts won't be looking at me! Good-bye chance of a scholarship!"

Chad stormed his brother. "You are the reason why college scouts won't be looking at you this fall! And you are the reason why your teammate won't be playing for the next six weeks! You could've cost the both of you your college careers!" He punctuated each sentence with a poke to the center of Max's chest before shaking his head in disgust. "Just go to the car, Max. I can't even begin to think what Mom and Dad would say if they were here to see this."

The younger Danforth walked away in a huff leaving Chad and Troy alone in the hallway.

"I'm really sorry for my brother's behavior. I don't know where he gets his sense of entitlement. He's been acting this way ever since the accident."

Troy was ready to make a smart-ass retort, but the mention of the word accident made him think better of it. "What do you mean accident?"

Chad looked a bit surprise before realization set in. "That's right you weren't here. God, it must have been six years ago when both my parents died in a car crash. Your parents never told you?"

Troy scratched the back of his head nervously. "I kinda lost touch with my parents until now. I'm really sorry to hear about your folks."

"It was really unfortunate. After it happened I realized I couldn't leave Max to be raised by some distant family member while I was off at school. I enrolled at community college and the both of us moved in with our grandma. Recently I took over as Max's guardian to relieve some of the stress on my gram, and he's been acting out ever since." Chad released a heavy sigh. "He's really not a bad kid, Troy."

"I don't doubt that. I just can't have him on my team with his current attitude."

With a shoulder shrug, Chad replied, "Well, I'll have to talk with him about that." He gave his worn leather watch a quick glance. "I better get going. I told my boss I'd be in by 9:00."

Troy accepted his extended hand. "It was good seeing you again Chad. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances though." He gestured to the conference room door with his head.

"Yeah well, what can you do?" The jingle of keys could be heard as Chad fidgeted with them in his pocket.

"Hey, I know this coming weekend is the holiday, but how about next week sometime we get together and catch up? Jason has an awesome place in town where we could grab a few beers." Troy hoped his former friend would accept the offer so they could let the occurrences of the past with Sharpay be put to rest and resume their friendship. The only thing was, he wasn't sure how Sharpay would feel about his hanging out with Chad since she was still bitter towards him for what he did to her in high school.

"I heard he opened up that Wildcat Bistro. Sure, why not? Give me a call after the holiday and we'll meet up."

"Alright, man," Troy gave him a friendly handshake, "I'll talk to you later then."

"See you around." Chad headed towards the front office to turn in his visitor pass while Troy headed back to his office to get ready for his second period sophomore gym class.


	14. Chapter 14

**I am so sorry for my lack of updating on this story. I just want all the readers of it to know that I have not abandoned it. I am determined to finish it!!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter!! I really liked writing it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM.**

The bitter winter night air nipped at Troy's nose as he and Sharpay bustled down the busy New York street. Fellow theater-goers surrounded them, all briskly walking down the sidewalk in hopes of hailing one of the few empty cabs that were hidden among the hundred full ones to escape the cruel cold. A cold that chilled you to the bone no matter how many layers of clothing you had on beneath your winter coat.

With this being his second evening in New York, Troy had yet to master Sharpay's ability to weave through the crowds of people that filled the New York City streets regardless of the time of day. He allowed her to lead him by the black leather gloved hand to the Washington Square Starbucks where they were to meet his sister after her evening exam.

Coming to a sudden halt at a red light, Troy glanced down at Sharpay's golden curls peeking out from her cream wool cap. Her hair glimmered under the street lamps due to the light dusting of snowflakes gracefully falling from the sky. Feeling his gaze, she tilted her head up to meet it. Her lips and cheeks were rosy from the small amount of time they had spent outside. He was sure his were also red, but it probably wasn't as attractive on him. He took advantage of the moment to briefly peck her cherry gloss-flavored lips because it simply felt right. She smiled in response, feeling the warmth of his kiss fill her from head to toe.

The warmth of Starbucks was welcoming and inviting. The couple had no problem rushing through the door to escape the cold. They found one open table as the coffee shop was filled with others trying to escape the winter night with cups of specialty coffee drinks and close company. Sharpay was quick to place her Kate Spade Cornelia Street Noel Stevie purse to reserve a chair for Michelle. Troy removed his own black leather coat and placed it on the back of his seat before going up to the counter to order hot beverages for the two of them. Sharpay took off her white cashmere gloves that perfectly matched her hat and coordinating scarf and stuffed them in the pockets of her black glen plaid coat that she carefully slid off next.

The delicious aroma of her espresso truffle wafted towards her nose indicating Troy had returned to the table and she needed to remove her gaze from the frosted window. She cradled the Styrofoam cup in her hands absorbing its warmth. Troy took a few careful sips of his vanilla latte allowing the hot liquid to flow through his veins and heat his insides. They sat in comfortable silence sipping and waiting.

Moments later a blur of grey entered in a rush. The couple looked up from their coffee, recognizing the brand new grey wool peacoat picked up on a shopping spree the day before. Michelle Bradford made her way over a dazzling white smile on her face sparkling through her crystal blue eyes, the same ones her brother had. Her shoulder length chocolate brown hair was parted to the right with her side swept bangs clipped back by a silver butterfly clip to keep them out of her face. Dark wash Old Navy jeans were tucked in to black Ugg boots that rose to mid-calf, and a purple NYU sweatshirt was beneath her open coat.

Troy rose as soon as she sat down to retrieve her requested White Chocolate Mocha so she too could absorb the warmth of a hot beverage.

The small talk began once the drink was in her hands. They asked about her exam. She explained it was for her economics class, and the test went quite well because she had spent a lot of time preparing. She then inquired about the musical they had gone to see at the theater. Both agreed the plot was quite slow to develop but the choreography fit the music perfectly. Could it be due to the fact that the choreographer and composer were husband and wife and the relatives of Sharpay?

Michelle couldn't help but smile with glee as Sharpay recounted the intricate steps of the dances as she was a large fan of Ryan Evans' work. Thanks to pure luck, she was able to take his theater workshop for the first eight weeks of the semester. She secretly hoped a family connection through Sharpay would allow her to continue taking his workshops throughout her time at NYU. Even though she had been awarded her scholarship from the school of business, theater was her true passion. She was determined to star on Broadway by the time she was thirty, an ambitious goal for the eighteen year old brunette who had not taken part in any form of theater until the workshop that had recently ended. Could this be influence of a handsome twenty-four year old choreographer who she thought to be single? That was until Sharpay removed a photo of her twin standing with a petite woman and a baby in what appeared to be a family photo to introduce Michelle to the people they would be having Thanksgiving dinner with the following day.

The baristas bringing out the broom signaled the trio that it was closing time. They bundled up fastening their jackets until every last button was closed, winding scarves tightly and making sure hats and gloves were secure. Not wanting to spend any unnecessary time in the bitter cold, Michelle was quick to hail a yellow taxi. Giving the driver both destinations, they departed from the coffee shop in the direction of Brittany Residence Hall.

* * *

With Sharpay's departure from their hotel room to help Kelsi with dinner preparations, Troy was left the mere memory of breakfast in bed and hotel pad of paper containing the address to the residence of Ryan Evans and Kelsi Neilson-Evans in Brooklyn. His only responsibility was to get himself and Michelle there by 3:00 P.M. Therefore, the older sibling decided some brother-sister bonding time was definitely in order as they hadn't seen each other since the summer months. He was hoping his younger sister could offer some assistance in the engagement ring department. Though the stores were closed for the holiday, he figured they could window shop today then sneak off tomorrow to purchase a diamond while Sharpay went to the spa with her sister-in-law. Michelle was also a part of this spa date, but she opted out of the morning massage in hopes of helping her brother with the scheme she had yet to be informed of.

Standing outside of Tiffany & Co. with hot chocolate and croissants, Troy and Michelle admired the glittering silver jewelry on display. The scene was rather reminiscent of Sharpay's favorite Audrey Hepburn movie.

Though all of the pieces were eye-catching, not one ring screamed "Sharpay." They resigned that the day after tomorrow would probably be their best bet since store signs advertised Black Friday sales, and there was no way Troy was capable of battling mad shoppers with raging credit cards eager to be swiped.

With time to spare, the brother-sister duo opted to brave a grocery store on the way to Brooklyn for a bottle of wine and the butter Sharpay had requested via text message. They could only hope the store would still have stock of their desired purchases.

* * *

After a braving the grocery store, where Troy narrowly escaped being run over by a desperate housewife on the way to the checkout, he and Michelle made their way up the steps of Ryan and Kelsi's brownstone. The peach exterior could not be missed among the boring browns and dull grays that lined the street.

Within seconds of ringing the doorbell, the siblings were greeted by Sharpay who was clad in a forest green apron reading "Kiss the Cook." It was freckled with bits and globs of the mouthwatering Thanksgiving dinner cooking in the kitchen. She ushered them out of the cold giving both a hug as they removed their winter jackets. Troy got a welcoming kiss when he produced the bag of requested groceries. She made them follow her into the kitchen to get the round of introductions under way before the bird was done.

Kelsi stood over the stove stirring a pot of what appeared to be gravy, but as soon as the trio entered the room, she dropped the spoon she was using, wiped her hands on a dish towel and pulled Troy into a bone-crushing hug. Troy was amazed at the strength of the petite composer and how much her appearance had changed since he last saw her. Her auburn hair was styled into an angled bob and highlighted with hints of gold. Her signature glasses had been abandoned for contacts causing her green eyes to sparkle. Her skin glowed, a factor Sharpay attributed to motherhood. Finally her quirky style had been updated quite a bit as was exemplified by her dark wash skinny jeans and form-hugging, off-the-shoulder, white cashmere sweater.

Michelle was a bit stand-offish when introduced to Kelsi. Her eyes were lurking around the home for the current object of her affection not caring that he was happily married and a proud father. Looking never hurt anyone right?

As if her desires had been heard by the gods, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs graced her ears. Ryan Evans, choreographer extraordinaire, waltzed into the kitchen carrying a baby.

A baby? No this was far from Michelle's fantasy. He was supposed to take sight of her, remember how their hands brushed when she couldn't master the final turn, pull her in his arms and whisk her away. That was the exact opposite of what happened.

Ryan walked into the kitchen with his son, Cameron, on his hip. He cooed to the room that the baby had just woken up from his nap. Catching sight of the new company, he handed Cameron off to Kelsi and pulled Troy into a hug. He had the intention of playing overprotective brother, but the minute he saw the way Troy looked at his sister, he knew he loved her. All feelings of doubt were pushed aside.

When it came time to meet Michelle, he did show recognition that she had taken his eight-week course, but there was no look of adoration in his eyes. The only one he adored was his wife and mother of his child. The young woman never felt more childish in her life. Her school girl crush had blown up in her face within thirty seconds. She had to resolve that Ryan and Kelsi would soon be her family, especially if Troy purchased an engagement ring as planned.

* * *

Dinner was rather uneventful. Bouts of light conversation were interspersed between bites of the delicious meal, that Troy was surprised to learn was mainly prepared by Sharpay. The most she had ever cooked for him was her famous lasagna or tacos since they spent a lot of their meal time eating at his parents' house, at Jason and Kaci's or the restaurant. He couldn't get enough of her sweet potato pie, a family recipe passed down to her by her grandmother since her mother had zero culinary skill except for pushing the popcorn button on the microwave. He found himself battling Ryan for the final helping. A fight he lost when Ryan threatened to revoke his impending permission to marry his sister. Troy was quick to hand over the casserole dish, knowing he would have to speak with both Ryan and Mr. Evans when he planned to pop the question.

Michelle found herself becoming a fast fan of Kelsi when she learned of her accomplishments. She had no idea her gracious hostess composed the entire score for three musicals all before she turned eighteen. She found herself even more shell-shocked when she learned her brother was the star of two of these musicals. Troy had never indicated he had managed to nail two leads while doing theater in high school. Michelle had always assumed he helped out with set building and prop placement for the East High drama department.

Sharpay was a mere observer during the holiday meal. Having cooked nearly all day, she found herself a bit too exhausted to take part in the table conversation only offering the occasional smile or nod when necessary. She felt her heart warm at the thought of how easily Troy had melded back in with Ryan and Kelsi. She thought for sure her twin would have given him a hard time about leaving and breaking her heart. Instead, he was animated and interested to hear how Troy had spent his college years. She nearly spewed her sip of wine across Kelsi's white linen table cloth when Troy revealed he had passed up several NBA offers most recently being the LA Lakers in response to one of Ryan's questions. Excusing herself from the table to retrieve the pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, she shot Troy a look indicating he would have a lot of explaining to do when they got back to Albuquerque.

Sharpay had to take several calming breaths in front of the refrigerator before she opened it to remove the delectable dessert. She couldn't fathom why Troy would pass up the NBA. It was his dream and the chance of a lifetime. She couldn't even imagine the conversation, that's how perplexed and distressed she was by the news.

Troy came into the kitchen to check on her, but she shooed him back to the dining room. Now was not the occasion to make a scene. They were just going to enjoy being together in a family atmosphere and be thankful that they finally found their way back to each other.

* * *

Troy and Sharpay were extremely disappointed to leave their siblings behind in the Winter Wonderland City. Neither was thrilled to go back to reality, where normal life and work awaited them. Intense rehearsals for the winter musical would begin as the opening night was quickly approaching. The basketball team would be entering their first tournament. The couple knew they would be seeing very little of each other in the coming weeks.

However, Troy was more positive about the outcome since he had a black velvet box tucked safely away in his suitcase. He had the prospect of spending forever together to get him through the coming weeks, while Sharpay only had the memories of their getaway to New York. She was completely unsuspecting and totally distracted by Kaci and Jason's upcoming nuptials to even think about the possibility of being engaged to Troy.

She was definitely in for the surprise of her life.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters**

Sharpay found herself rubbing her temples to ward off the migraine she felt building behind her eyes. They were probably on the one hundredth attempt of the opening number, and the kids were still not getting it. The drama girls and the basketball boys refused to mesh together. She could tell the girls were deliberately overcomplicating the simple routine so the basketball players would look like gorillas on roller skates. She was getting very peeved at the lack of camaraderie amongst the cast. The only two who were actually trying were Shayne and Reed, and Sharpay assumed it was only because Reed was currently not playing basketball.

Instead of telling the pianist to start the song again, she called everyone's attention to the front row of seats where she was standing. "Alright everyone, it's time to stop goofing off. You either start trying to get these routines down pact or else I'm going to make every single one of you do the spring musical too. You need to get over your positions on the social totem pole and start acting like a single unit. I refuse to see this production be anything less than perfect. Because of the lack of trying among the chorus, all of you will be undergoing a dance workshop tomorrow during drama in addition to that night's practice. Maybe you'll learn to treat one another like equals instead of lepers." She made eye contact with every student on the stage. Very few were able to hold her gaze. "For those of you who have been trying, I really appreciate it. Now go home everyone. I'll see you all tomorrow."

She collapsed into one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. Sharpay now fully understood everything her graduating class had put Ms. Darbus through during Twinkle Towne. Gathering up her stuff, she vowed to send her former teacher a cookie basket the moment she got home.

Walking in the door of her apartment, Sharpay was greeted with intoxicating aromas wafting from her kitchen.

"Mhm, smells good." Sharpay dramatically sniffed the air as she entered the kitchen.

Troy was bent over checking whatever was cooking in the oven. She gave his butt a playful squeeze.

"Hey!" He stood up, rubbing his bottom in mock annoyance. "Don't disturb the cook!"

Sharpay pulled a wine cooler out of the fridge. After taking a big sip, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Cook?"

"Ok fine," he rolled his ocean eyes, "I'm just heating it up. Mom sent me home with her chicken noodle casserole." He glanced at the longneck bottle in her hand. "Drinking when you first walk in the door? What's wrong babe?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a loving kiss on her forehead.

Sharpay let out a heavy sigh of frustration. "The kids refuse to cooperate. I blamed the last two days' disasters on the break. I mean everyone loses the swing of things after a few days off from school. But today I saw that in reality they're just really not trying. They're too worried about the stupid social hierarchy to put their best foot forward and just suck it up. The majority of them don't care if this play tanks." She tried to fight back the tears that were forming in her chocolate orbs.

Troy took her face between his gentle hands. "You of all people should know that high school is all about sticking to your clique and not intermingling. Hell, I'm pretty sure you and Chad wrote the rulebook on that one." He gave her a goofy grin, but her lack of amusement indicated he needed to change tactic quickly.

"Look Pay," he let go of her face, took her wine cooler from her and set it on the counter, then took both her hands in his. "I think you need to change your strategy on how you handle this."

"No kidding," she muttered with an eye roll.

"You should channel Darbus. She reunited us, didn't she? Maybe you can unite the whole cast if you just find a new game plan."

"You're right." Sharpay dropped his hands so she could rub her temples again. "I just need to sleep on it."

Troy went behind her and began massaging her shoulders. "Oh my god! Can you have any more knots in your neck!?"

"It's not like I'm stressed or anything." She nearly melted when the tension started to release from her upper body.

"Ok new plan for tonight. You are going to go take a hot bubble bath and relax then put on your most comfortable pair of pj's and crawl into bed. I will finish up dinner, and we'll eat it while watching RENT in bed. What do you say?"

Sharpay turned her head to kiss his lips. "I say that sounds like heaven." She reluctantly moved out of his grasp. "What would I do without you?"

She was already down the hall before Troy could respond. "I think the better question is what would I do without you?" he mumbled.

Sharpay crawled into bed feeling very relaxed after taking a bath with her favorite lavender bath salts. She smiled when she glanced at the TV and saw that Troy had already loaded the RENT DVD. Though she knew she'd be asleep before the cast got to "Rent." The only thing keeping her awake now was the rumble in her stomach. She inwardly grimaced when she realized how little she had eaten all day.

As if he had read her mind, Troy entered the bedroom juggling a tray containing two plates, silverware and beverages for both of them. He placed it next to Sharpay then proceeded to carefully crawl in bed without jostling the tray. He didn't think Sharpay would appreciate having to eat her dinner off of her favorite pj's.

Before Troy had the chance to hand Sharpay her plate, she grabbed his face and pulled him in for a hello kiss.

Troy was dazed by it for a moment. Coming back to reality, he asked, "What was that for?"

Sharpay bit her lip coyly. "Just saying "Hi" since we forgot to earlier."

"Oh well in that case," Troy leaned over the tray separating them and kissed her with more fervor. "Hi."

"Hi," she replied breathlessly.

"Alright, now that's out of the way, let's eat!" He handed her a plate and silverware. Sharpay couldn't wait to dig in to Lucy's chicken noodle casserole and green beans Troy had heated with butter.

They both ate quickly, too starved to take time for conversation. After removing the dishes to the kitchen, Troy stripped down to his boxers and joined Sharpay under the covers. She snuggled into his chest while he pressed play with the remote.

As predicted, she was fast asleep before the second song began. Troy turned off the movie and allowed himself to succumb to sleep too, hoping Sharpay's day would go more smoothly tomorrow.

* * *

Sharpay couldn't hide her astonishment when she entered the auditorium for the mandatory dance rehearsal she had called and found the entire cast and crew standing on the stage. "What are you all doing here? I only said the chorus had rehearsal during this period."

"Well Ms. Evans," Shayne took a bold step forward, "we've all come to the conclusion that we owe you one giant apology."

"Yeah," Reed joined Shayne at center stage, "none of us have taken this too seriously. We've been too busy trying to remind each other of their place when we should've been working as a team."

"We've all talked, and we all promise to give our all until closing night." Shayne gestured to the entire group.

"So what do you say Ms. Evans? Can you forgive us?" Reed gave his signature smile for added effect.

Sharpay found herself at a loss for words. She never would have anticipated the kids coming together this quickly. She couldn't even fathom the idea of it. A brief movement among the curtains gave a good indication of what caused the sudden change of attitude.

She gave the kids a huge smile. "Thank you, all of you. I really appreciate you coming together like this. I'm really touched that you're all willing to give this your best. I'm gonna ask that we run the opening number one time before I let you all go, but first I need to go grab something from my classroom. I'll be right back."

Sharpay speed-walked down the aisle. Coming out of the auditorium, she heard the squeak of tennis shoes on the linoleum floor from around the corner. She quickened her pace to chase after the footsteps. She got a glimpse of the familiar sandy brown hair heading towards the gym. She couldn't run in her Manolos, but she knew she pretty much had him cornered.

Entering the gym, she found Troy beginning to untangle the volleyball nets for his gym class next period.

"Troy Bolton!" She crossed her arms over her chest and began tapping her foot impatiently. This was her typical "I'm not happy with you" pose.

He knew he was busted but chose to play innocent. "Yes?"

"All the kids suddenly decided that they need to start working together. Would you know anything about that?"

Troy dropped the loose end of the net. "Fine," he sighed heavily. "I may have said something to Reed and Shayne this morning who possibly spoke to the drama club and basketball team thus causing everyone else to have a wake-up call."

"Troy, I know you did more than that. I saw you lurking backstage so try again."

"I threatened to make them all run laps for their entire gym period."

Sharpay rolled her eyes then moved to close the space between them, the heels of her boots clicking against the wooden flooring. "You are not a hard ass. You would never make students run for punishment, especially girls."

"Alright, alright. I gave them one of my famous motivational speeches. I told them about my bout with drama productions and how high school pressures almost made drop out of the musical." He paused for dramatic effect. "Then I promised them all I would come to a rehearsal to prove that I can sing."

His sheepish grin caused a radiating smile to emerge on Sharpay's face. "You did that for me?" The admiration sparkled in her eyes.

"Yes and you can thank me for it later. You have a drama class waiting for you right now." He gestured to the gym doors with his head.

"And to think I was going to kiss you. Oh well, guess I'll head off then."

She had only taken two steps before Troy grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He placed a very quick kiss on her lips then let her go because it was the school day. "See you for lunch?"

"Of course. I'll even treat."

"Meaning we're going to the Bistro."

Sharpay sauntered off not bothering to acknowledge Troy's statement.

* * *

The weekend could not come fast enough for Sharpay. Sure the cast was finally cooperating and actually trying, but something was still off. Part of the problem was Reed's injury. With his ribs still tender, he was having a difficult time performing the lifts choreographed into the final number. He tried hiding the obvious pain, but Sharpay knew she was gonna have to take it easy on him for the next two weeks. She didn't want to risk him getting injured further or his future basketball career.

After cutting Friday's afternoon practice early so the kids could go home and start their weekends, Sharpay headed off to get ready for a girls' night out with Kaci. She was allowed no objections when her best friend demanded they go out for some fun.

Sharpay was excited for the evening, but knowing Troy was going out with Jason and Chad Danforth had her bothered. She knew it was juvenile, but she did not like the idea of Troy hanging out with her former nemesis. She wouldn't admit her underlying fear that Chad would somehow convince Troy to dump her for someone better.

Troy, Jason and Kaci could sense her obvious unease as she walked into the living room, fastening her earring in the process. However, their concern quickly evaporated when they all caught a glimpse of her.

The boys' jaws hit the floor while Kaci nodded her head in approval. Her Eight Sixty strapless bandage dress was the essence of sexy or so the boutique owner told her during one of her many New York shopping sprees over the holiday. The dress was form hugging, stopping at mid-thigh, showing off her gorgeous legs that were accentuated by her studded Christian Louboutin heels.

She performed a little twirl, earning a whistle from Jason. This in turn earned him a slap to the head from both Kaci and Troy. Though Troy's was extremely painful whereas Kaci's was merely playful.

Troy stood up from the couch. "Sharpay, what are you wearing?" He gestured to what he felt was a very provocative dress.

"It's a dress, Troy." She patted his cheek playfully before heading off to the kitchen to grab her phone from the counter where it was charging.

Troy was hot on her heels. "Sharpay, you can't go out looking like this."

"Looking like what, Troy?" She raised her eyebrow, daring him to continue.

"That dress looks like lingerie! You look like a whore!"

Sharpay wasn't the only one who gasped loudly to Troy's outburst, but her gasp was certainly the angriest.

Troy ran his fingers through his hair knowing her anger was quickly brewing beneath the surface. "Look, that dress is gonna cause guys to be all over you all night, and I don't like the idea of that one bit. You're my girl and only I'm allowed to see you like this."

Sharpay couldn't deny that Troy's possessiveness was quite the turn on. She'd never seen him so heated. But she was also highly offended that he called her a whore, and for that he was going to pay.

"Well if you feel so strongly, then you guys should just come with us. You can keep an eye on me and make sure I don't throw myself at some random guy."

"You're making it sound like I don't trust you."

"You said I look like a whore, Troy."

"Well, that is the message that dress sends to all the creeps lurking out there. I'm just worried about you that's all."

"Then like I said you guys can come with us and make sure the creeps stay away."

"You can't just change?" he pleaded.

"Nope."

"Fine." Troy left the kitchen with a heavy sigh. "Change of plans, Jase."

"What do you mean change of plans?" Jason asked incredulously. "I thought this was guys' night since the ladies are doing their thing."

"Well Jason, Troy here," Sharpay patted her boyfriend's chest affectionately, "thinks that all of the men of Albuquerque are going to tempt me into sin. So he wants to come with and keep them in line." She turned her gaze to Troy. "Did I get that right sweetie?"

Troy just rolled his eyes.

"Seriously dude!?" Jason jumped up from the couch. "What happened to beer and the Knicks?"

"Shar, I really think we should let the guys do their own thing," Kaci finally chimed in.

"I fully agree, Kace. It's up to Troy though."

Troy shot her glare before addressing Jason and Kaci. "We're going. Jason call Chad and tell him to meet us at…" He looked to Kaci for the name of their destination.

"_Lumina_, where we always go. But seriously Troy, do you really wanna give up your fun to listen to our girly chatter?" Kaci was trying to fix him with a puppy dog stare, but it was having no effect.

"I guess we better get going then." Sharpay grabbed her leather biker jacket from its resting place on the armchair and strutted out the door. The other three trudged behind her with Jason muttering his grievances the whole ride there.

Walking up to _Lumina_, one of the few high class bars in the downtown area, Sharpay could feel her stomach drop as the group caught site of Chad. Troy slung his arm around her shoulders sensing her unease, and Jason gave her hand a squeeze followed by a comforting smile. She silently prayed they could act civil towards one another.

The moment of truth arrived far too quickly in Sharpay's opinion. Jason was the first to greet her former nemesis. He offered a firm handshake then introduced Kaci. Chad offered his congratulations then it was on to Troy.

After shaking his hand, Troy turned to Sharpay. "Chad, you remember Sharpay."

He gave a warm smile. "Of course, it's great to see you, Sharpay." Chad extended his hand.

It took a nudge from Troy, but she accepted his hand with a smile. "Nice to see you too, Chad."

With pleasantries out of the way, Kaci led the small group into the bar. She found the hostess, who quickly led the party to the booth Kaci had reserved earlier in the week. No one but her was expecting to see two people already sitting there.

Kaci quickly ran up to the well-dressed man and woman and greeted them with hugs and kisses on the cheek. The couple appeared a bit shocked to see the four others standing behind her.

"Phoebe, Pierre, I'd like you to meet my friends." She pulled Jason forward. "This is my fiancé Jason Cross, and these are his childhood friends Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth," she gestured to the boys. "And this is," she yanked Sharpay to her side, "Sharpay Evans, my best friend and the designer I was telling you about. Sharpay, I'd like to introduce you to Phoebe Dinozo and Pierre Laurent." She allowed Sharpay a moment to shake their hands before continuing. "Phoebe and Pierre run Eight Sixty in New York. They're interested in having you design for them."

Sharpay's eyes got huge. The owners of one of her favorite boutiques in New York were interested in her work? No wonder Kaci told there were no if's, and's or but's about tonight. She felt like major jerk for goading Troy into coming with them. That was going to make for one awkward business meeting.

As if he read her thoughts, Troy turned to the guys and suggested they head to the bar for drinks. He figured the crowd would cause them to be away for quite some time. Jason's comment about having a waitress for this purpose earned him a smack upside the head.

With the boys gone, the remaining four settled into the booth. Feeling the warmth of the bar, Sharpay removed her jacket.

"I see you shop at our store," Phoebe commented.

Sharpay looked down at her dress. "I must say I make a point to visit it whenever I'm in New York."

"Glad to hear it." Pierre replied in his French accent. "We like designers who are familiar with our lines."

"Phoebe and Pierre saw the dress you made me for the opening and demanded to be introduced to the designer. So here we are." She offered Sharpay a reassuring smile.

"Yes, Sharpay, we'd like to talk to with you about designing four or five dresses for our spring collection." Phoebe paused to take a sip of her martini, but Pierre chimed in before she could continue.

"We feel your talent is something our customers would love. So if this series of dresses takes off, we'd take you on as a full-time designer for the boutique."

"Wow," Sharpay said in awe, "that's some offer."

"What can we say? When we see something we like we go for it. And you are it, cherie." Pierre toasted Sharpay with his vodka tonic with lime.

The boys returned seconds later bearing drinks for everyone. Phoebe and Pierre stayed for the round, then excused themselves and called it an early night since they had a flight to catch in the morning. They promised to be in touch with Sharpay during the week.

At some point in the evening, Sharpay and Chad ended up at the table alone together. Awkwardness was settling in with neither one knowing what to say.

Chad was the first to break the silence. "Sharpay, I just wanted to say I'm not that asshole from high school anymore. I grew up really fast after my parents died. You don't have to be afraid to talk to me."

Sharpay took a giant sip from Troy's beer bottle since her Cosmo glass was empty. She grimaced at the bitter taste causing Chad to chuckle. "Chad, I know I've been cold, but your words from graduation stuck with me. It took me a long time to realize that Troy's leaving had nothing to do with me. After realizing that, it was easy to blame you for my misery. I've spent the last six years being bitter about the way you treated me in high school which is totally childish."

"I am sorry for the way I treated you."

"And I forgive you. Though I'm also sorry, it's not like the bitterness was one-sided."

"So friends?" Chad extended his hand with a smile.

Sharpay nodded her head. "Friends." She shook his hand firmly.

"You and Troy managed to find your way back to each other then?"

Troy chose that moment to slide in the booth next to Sharpay. "What about Troy?" He kissed Sharpay's lips with a smile.

She giggled. "You're drunk."

"Two beers does not equal drunk, Shar. I'm just relaxed."

"I guess I answered my own question." Chad sipped his beer, remembering a party in high school where Sharpay accused Troy of the exact same thing and his answer was verbatim.

* * *

Troy was woken up Sunday morning by the sound of giggles coming from across the hall in Sharpay's studio. Glancing at the clock radio, he saw it was 9:30. He couldn't figure out why someone would be here this early.

Throwing on a t-shirt, he shuffled down the hall groggily. Pushing open the partially cracked door, he found himself blinded by sunlight streaming through the window. Blinking his eyes so they would adjust, he was greeted with Sharpay and Kaci staring at him with silly grins on their faces.

"Morning Troy, nice boxers." Kaci gestured with her head to the Mickey Mouse pair he was wearing since she wasn't allowed to move any other body part or else risk being stabbed with a pin.

Troy ignored her barb at his underwear choice. He couldn't help the fact that he never did laundry until he was completely out of clean underwear. "What are you two doing? And why are you guys so perky?"

"This is Kaci's second to last dress fitting, and this morning was the only time that worked for her. You can thank her for the coffee and bagels she brought us as an apology for being here since 8:00." Sharpay's tone was near scolding almost like a mother warning her small child to say thanks to scary Aunt Martha or else.

"Thanks for the caffeine fix and breakfast, Kace." He gave Sharpay a look that asked "Happy?"

She stuck her tongue out in response.

"I'll leave you ladies to do your thing." With the door almost closed, he stopped and opened it again. "You look gorgeous by the way, Kaci." He gave her the famous Troy Bolton wink, almost as notorious as the Bolton grin.

Kaci's response was, "I know! Isn't Sharpay a miracle worker?"

"She's definitely a genius when it comes to clothes, but I love her for a lot more than that." Troy closed the door with his departing remark.

He could hear Kaci squeal her delight and then threaten to do major bodily harm if he didn't pop the question soon. He was relieved when Sharpay scolded her, saying she wanted to have his babies some day so violence was not the option.

Troy loved the fact of Sharpay being totally clueless about the ring he bought in New York. He had given it to his dad for safe keeping. He didn't want to risk Sharpay stumbling across it in the apartment. He couldn't wait to see her face when he popped the question. She was definitely going to be blown away.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I know I haven't updated this story in a very long time. I wouldn't be surprised if I've lost readers along the way. I did take a two almost three year hiatus with it. I can go into a long-winded explanation of why, but I'll just leave it as life got in the way and I lost my inspiration for awhile.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or its characters**

Stress was the one word that described Sharpay's current life. It was haunting her. She felt it everywhere she went in every single aspect of her life. The final week of rehearsals was fast approaching, and the cast had yet to nail a single number. Then she had her senior research papers to grade before winter break. 150 was not an ideal number at the current point in time. Lucy and Jack had been harping on her because she had not come to a dinner in three weeks. She had a received a call from Kelsi a few days ago telling her Ryan had managed to sprain his ankle badly while choreographing a new routine for the Rockette's and he was wondering if she could cook something up if they sent her the music. Finally she had been scrambling to get Kaci's dress done in time. Her sleep had suffered greatly so she could complete her masterpiece. She succeeded, thirty seconds before the town car sent by _Vogue_ arrived to take her to the set.

Troy had at least been sympathetic during her time of craziness. He made sure she remembered to eat all three meals: breakfast was ready to go every morning, he brought her a nutritious lunch and forced her to eat it during their lunch hour, and she was not allowed out of the house if she did not have dinner. He refused to let her give herself an ulcer with coffee so she was forced to drink green tea, which had the added benefit of antioxidants to keep her immune system strong. He called Ryan and told him there was no way Sharpay could possibly choreograph a number. He also managed to coax her to get some sleep each night. Though with all he did, he still feared she would have a nervous breakdown very soon. For that reason he was whisking her away for a romantic evening away at the Bolton cabin after the photo shoot.

Sharpay was grateful she had Troy to help her carry down the wedding dress. With the added length, it was difficult for her to keep the protective wardrobe bag off the ground.

After cautiously tucking it into the back seat, Troy pulled Sharpay into an embrace and kissed her. "Go show those high end fashion chasers what _Sharpay Designs_ are made of."

With his vote of confidence, she got into the town car with a nervous smile plastered on her face.

Kaci was waiting outside the small studio when Sharpay arrived. She knew her best friend was nervous and wanted to put her fears at ease.

Sharpay carried the dress delicately. "Hey, Kace."

"Hey. You ready?"

Sharpay just gave her a dirty look in response.

Kaci let out a slight laugh. "Alright then. Well, they want to interview you while I'm in hair in make-up. Just a few short questions about how you were inspired." She ushered Sharpay inside.

The two girls were instantly greeted by an intern. "Is this the dress?" She tried to pull it from Sharpay's hands.

Sharpay kept a tight hold on the garment bag. "Yes, can you show me where to take it please?"

The intern was put off for a moment but regained her composure. "Sure, right this way." She gestured to the wardrobe area. "Ms. Merrin they need you in hair and make-up."

"I'll go as soon as I introduce Ms. Evans to Victoria, Gwen." Kaci's reply was sweet yet stern. The obnoxious intern had been barking orders since she arrived. She was far from being in charge of this shoot and needed to stop being so bossy.

Kaci led Sharpay towards a tall woman barking orders at a young boy wearing a headset. "If I don't have my coffee black with two Splendas in five minutes, I will fire you. Do you understand?" She stared him down with menace.

"Yes, Ms. Caprisa," he answered meekly before scurrying off.

"Victoria!" Kaci called to get her attention.

The fashion editor of Vogue turned at the sound of her name. Sharpay made a note of how fierce the woman looked from head to toe. Her jet black hair was cropped in a face-framing bob. Her gray eyes popped with the smoky color applied to her lids, and her lips were painted a bright red. She rocked the navy blue form-hugging Chanel dress. Her six foot frame had added height from a pair of nude Louboutin pumps. No wonder this woman worked for the number one fashion magazine in the world. She was fashion.

"Victoria," Kaci repeated, "I'd like you to meet Sharpay Evans, my closest friend and wedding dress designer." She tugged the blonde forward, who was trying to hide behind her.

Victoria extended her hand. "Sharpay, it's a pleasure to meet you. Kaci has told me great things about your designs."

"It's an honor to meet you too." Sharpay shook the woman's hand firmly with a smile.

"I'll be conducting your interview today. Would you follow me to set while Kaci goes into hair and make-up?" She started off in the direction she had gestured to indicating the designer hopeful had no choice but to follow her. Kaci gave her friend an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder. She knew she would be fine on her own.

* * *

Sharpay took the seat opposite Victoria. They were off to the side of the shoot's set where people were scrambling to get last minute details together for the perfect photograph. No one paid them any attention.

Victoria turned on a tape recorder and poised a fancy silver pen over a legal pad of paper. How they appeared, Sharpay had no idea. The interview started the second she crossed her legs and made herself comfortable in the chair commonly found on film sets. "So Sharpay, tell me how long you've been designing."

"Well," she took a second to gather her thoughts, "I would have to say since my first doll. Her clothes were always too boring for my tastes so my nanny helped me put a twist on the outfits. I would have her add rhinestones, lace, even feathers to these plain dresses. That desire to stand out transferred to my own clothes as I got older. I was a big fan of Swarovski crystals. Once I learned how to sew at the age of nine, I started to make alterations instead of modifications. Around that time I also learned I had a knack for drawing so I started sketching for my Barbies. I didn't draw an outfit for myself until I was sixteen. My first design was a cocktail dress for my parents' annual New Year's Eve party. It was simple halter that stopped right above the knee. I made it out of a champagne satin."

Victoria jotted some notes in preparation for her next question. "Sounds like dresses seem to be your forte. I understand you created the dress Kaci Merrin wore to her husband's restaurant opening as well as your own. Is that correct?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yes." She sat up straighter in her chair. "I tend to make dresses often. I aspire to have one of my designs worn at the Tony's or Oscars. However, I've recently taken to men's clothing. I created a suit for my boyfriend just a few weeks ago. It turned out really well."

The editor raised an eyebrow. "Can we expect the groom's tux to be a Sharpay Evans' original as well?"

"I think I'll just stick to the wedding dress for this particular event. One day I may venture into tuxedos."

"Then I guess we'll venture onto the topic of this article. What inspired the design for this dress?"

"When I first started sketching it, I was just trying something different. I had been watching a _Say Yes to the Dress_ marathon and was motivated to take a stab at a wedding dress. My sister-in-law saw me finishing the drawing and insisted I make it. It took me two years to complete it, but now it's finally done. And being featured in Vogue!" She tried to not blush after gushing at the last second.

Victoria gave her a slight smirk as she put her interview tools on the table beside them. "Well Sharpay, that's all I have for you."

Sharpay leaned forward to shake her hand. "Thank you very much. Would it be alright if I peeked in on Kaci before I left?"

"Gwen!" she snapped her fingers for her intern to come forward. The obnoxious redhead came running. "Take Ms. Evans to the dressing room."

"Yes M'am. Right this way, Ms. Evans." She motioned for Sharpay to follow, and the blonde complied.

Kaci was in a make-up chair getting foundation applied, her hair secured in rollers, and her nails done all at once. Sharpay stood off to the side to avoid getting in anyone's way. "I just came to say bye, Kace."

The heiress shook the style team away so she could talk. "You're not staying for the shoot?" she pouted.

Sharpay shrugged sheepishly. "Troy's taking me up to the cabin for the night. He feels I need to get away and relax. And frankly I can't wait to get away fnow that this is over. Just make sure the dress goes home with you," she quickly warned.

Kaci waved her off. "Please, I'm wearing that thing home. No one will walk off with it. I promise." She held out her arms for a hug.

The blonde embraced her and kissed her cheek. The make-up artist huffed at the thought of having to re-do the spot, but the friends ignored her. "Thanks, Kace. You work those cameras."

"You just go work your man!"

Sharpay pretended to be offended as she walked out. In reality she had nothing but time between the sheets on the itinerary for her night away with Troy.

* * *

Walking out of the movie theater in their own little world, Shayne and Reed bumped into the last person they wanted to see. Max seemed startled by his collision with the couple. He had been lost in his thoughts wandering the main street. The angry glares he received from them were understandable. He had made their lives hell. Now he was suffering the consequences. He realized the only way he could start fresh was by making amends with them. "Uh, hey guys," he greeted nervously.

"Danforth," Reed replied warningly.

"Hello Max," Shayne answered in a gentle yet cautious tone.

Max started shuffling from foot to foot. "So how are the ribs?"

"Still sore no thanks to you." Reed stepped forward as if he was getting ready to punch him, but Shayne's hand to his chest stopped him.

"I really am sorry for that. I deserve the punishment I got, and I understand if we can't be friends anymore. I just wanted you to know I felt bad."

"Whatever, it's done. Let's just move on," Reed sighed.

"Well, I don't think that's possible until Shayne and I make amends." He looked to the auburn girl apologetically. "I made your life hell these last few years, and I've done a lot of horrible things to you. Like I told Reed, I don't expect you to forgive me, but I would like you to know I am sincerely sorry. I crossed a line with you that should not have been crossed that night. I did not respect you when you said no. I would take it back if I could. I know I caused a lot of damage to your reputation and a lot of pain to your self-esteem. I have no excuse or explanation except I've spent a lot of time only looking out for myself. I was willing to hurt others along the way, and that has gotten me nowhere. I'd really like to start over if you'd let me."

Shayne stepped forward and hugged the taller boy. Max was taken aback for a second. He quickly found his footing and reciprocated the gesture. She pulled away with a smile and said, "I forgive you. We all make mistakes, and we all learn from them."

"Thanks Shayne, that means a lot to me." He extended his hand to Reed as a peace offering. Reed shook it firmly. If his girlfriend could look past the hell Max had created for her for the last three years, he could certainly forgive him for his stupidity. However, Max would still have to prove himself to earn total forgiveness.

**A/N 2: I know this chapter wasn't very exciting, but the story will be picking up speed again. I am determined to finish it. There aren't many chapters left for what I have planned. I can't make any promises as to when the next chapter will be released. All I can say is hopefully soon because I want to say I've written a full story. I refuse to abandon this piece.**

**Thanks to all those who have read and have reviewed and alerted throughout this process!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Here is the next chapter. There's not much to go after this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or its characters nor do I own Anastasia or its music**

Pulling up the drive of his family cabin, Troy felt anxious. He wanted this evening to go perfectly. It had to go perfectly.

He spent a good hour on the phone with Ryan and Mr. Evans while Sharpay was at the shoot. It was rather difficult to get a hold of the Evans' patriarch in Tokyo thanks to the time difference. Troy was relieved to have succeeded.

He did his best to hide his nerves. He didn't want Sharpay to get suspicious. It was easier than he thought. The second the door was open, she took off to explore the cabin and see if anything was different. She hadn't been up there since Spring Break senior year.

With his girl distracted, Troy took the opportunity to set his plan in motion. He put their bags in the master bedroom and headed to the en suite bathroom to draw a bath for Sharpay in the Jacuzzi tub. As the taps ran, he added the lavender bubble bath he grabbed from underneath her bathroom sink and lit some vanilla candles around the tub's edge. He sprinkled pink rose petals in the water once it was full for the final romantic touch. "Shar!" he called so he could surprise her.

She came quickly, her excited footsteps thudding on the wood floors. Her gasp of surprise echoed off the bathroom walls. "What's all this?"

He stepped forward and tugged her over. With a soft kiss to her lips, he replied, "A hot bath for you to relax and de-stress while I cook us a romantic dinner for two."

"You won't be joining me?" she asked with puppy dog eyes and pouty lips.

He pecked her puckered lips with a laugh. "Nope, this is about you, baby. Now get in before the water gets cold!" He ordered with a playful slap to her behind.

Making dinner consisted of popping his mom's lasagna in the oven and setting out garlic bread on a baking sheet to put in the oven when there was ten minutes left on the timer. His main focus was setting up the living room, the setting for his big plans. He had an atmosphere to create.

Done with her bath, Sharpay slipped into the surprise she had packed for Troy. She fussed with her hair in the full length mirror on the door of the closet, finally deciding to let it hang down in its natural waves. She gave herself a once-over and nodded at her conclusion that the sheer black babydoll with pink straps would knock Troy off his feet. She secured her black silk robe around her waist. The present could wait till after dinner.

Troy had paced the length of the living room floor so much he was amazed he hadn't worn a hole in it. The plates were dished and ready to be served, and the wine glasses were full with Sharpay's favorite Pinot Grigio. They were set on the floor on the blanket he had spread out for a makeshift picnic.

Sharpay made her appearance known by clearing her throat. He spun around at the sound, and his jaw dropped at how breathtaking and sexy she looked in her short bathrobe. Her tan legs seemed to go on for days.

"Sure smells delicious in here," she commented.

"Mom's lasagna," he answered with a sheepish shrug.

"Well, are we gonna eat or are we just gonna stand here?"

"We're gonna eat, but first," he closed the distance between them and pulled her to the center of the room, "I have something to ask you." He dropped down to one knee, and she gasped. "Oh, Troy!"

He pulled the black velvet box out of the pocket of his jeans. "Sharpay Evans," he opened the square jewelry box to reveal the princess cut diamond surrounded by two smaller diamonds set on a platinum diamond band. "I love you with all my heart. You are the only woman I can imagine spending the rest of my life with. I want to raise a family with you and grow old together. You are the light of my world and the music in my soul. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?" His eyes remained trained on her chocolate brown orbs.

She began nodding her head eagerly. "Yes!" she finally managed to get out through her tears of happiness. "Yes, I'll marry you, Troy Bolton!"

He slipped the diamond on her shaking finger and kissed it once it was secure. "Perfect." He stood up with an ear to ear grin plastered on his face. She quickly jumped up and kissed him passionately. Her legs went around his waist, and he started walking them towards the bedroom. Dinner could wait.

* * *

Basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Sharpay held up her left hand to admire her new ring. "Don't you just love how it sparkles in the moonlight?" she cooed.

"It looks beautiful, babe," Troy mumbled half-asleep.

Sharpay placed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He pulled her closer hoping she would get the message and close her eyes.

"Troy?"

"Hmm?" he grunted.

"I'm hungry."

He opened his eyes and looked down at her. "Seriously?"

"Yeah…" she allowed her voice to trail off. "I didn't eat all day. I was too nervous."

"Alright then." He sat up, taking her with him. "Throw something on. I'll reheat the lasagna and add more logs to the fire." He slipped his boxers on with a yawn.

"Thank you!" she yelled after him.

The food and wine was devoured in a short amount of time. Both of them were ravenous.

With newfound energy, they made love in front of the fire. The roaring orange flames kept them warm as they drifted off to sleep feeling sated and exhausted.

* * *

Placing her key in the lock, Sharpay accepted reality was waiting for her on the other side of the door. She still had some papers to grade, and there was a rehearsal later that evening. Catching sight of her ring, she decided those responsibilities wouldn't stress her out.

"You gonna open that door today, Shar?" Troy shifted with their bags. "I don't really feel like standing in the hallway knowing all my stuff is still down in the car."

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes as she led him inside, "like someone will come along and steal it. This is downtown Albuquerque."

"Yes," he dropped their bags and backed her against the wall. With their lips centimeters apart, he said lowly, "But I'd like to make our moving in together official as soon as possible." He kissed her hotly. She was left standing in a stupor while he ran out to get the rest of his things.

Troy was officially moving in, not like he hadn't practically been living there already. In the six months left on her lease, they would start looking for a house. They decided last night they would like to purchase and move into one soon. Troy already started talking about what breeds of dog he wanted. He was deadest on getting a puppy.

With Troy unloading and unpacking, she started going over her notes from Thursday's rehearsal. They had to get the first act down pact tonight. Though the kids had been working harder as promised, they still weren't giving it their all. She needed to figure out something to give them that extra boost of confidence.

A few moments of thinking and she had the perfect idea. She just had to call in a few reinforcements.

* * *

As the cast and crew trickled in, they gave curious glances to the five adults gathered around a laptop on the piano. Some were worried about what Ms. Evans had in store for them.

At 6:00 Sharpay began rehearsal with a clap of her hands. "Alright guys, as you can see we have a few guests here with us tonight." She gestured to the people behind her. "You all know Coach Bolton. He's finally going to make good on his promise to sing for you all tonight. I'm sure some of my basketball players recognize Mr. Chad Danforth and Mr. Jason Cross. We also have my good friend Kaci Merrin. And finally," she walked over to the computer, "my brother Ryan Evans his wife Kelsi Nielson-Evans will be joining us by video chat tonight. Say hello to our guests." The group of teens murmured their greetings.

"Ms. Evans?" Shayne stood from her seat. "What's going on? These are our final days of rehearsals. Shouldn't we be getting right to it?"

"You're absolutely right, Shayne. But first I thought we'd all have a good laugh. Cole," she turned to the pianist, "A Rumor in St. Petersburg, please. Jason, Chad, whenever you're ready."

The two men acted their silliest throughout the song. If they missed a word, they didn't flinch. They just kept going, knowing they had an audience watching.

The lessons continued for the next twenty minutes. Ryan and Kelsi demonstrated staying in character. The boys who played Rasputin and Bartok had a problem with bursting out in laughter during their scenes. At that point Sharpay realized she had to let Rasputin's understudy know he had to step up. Doug McFadden was out with mono as of Friday afternoon.

She snuck down the stage steps and down the aisle to the back row where Max Danforth was sitting alone. "Hey Max?" she whispered.

"I know, Ms. Evans," he held up his copy of the script. "I've been memorizing my lines all weekend with my brother. I won't let you down." He gave her a reassuring smile.

She squeezed his shoulder. "Thanks Max." She ran back onstage for her final impromptu lesson.

The stage cleared and the lights dimmed. Sharpay waited in the wings of stage right. She took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the nerves that were causing her stomach to flutter. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans so she wouldn't drop the microphone she had just been handed by Jason. It was finally her chance to have the duet that she had been stood up for six years ago. It was her moment to shine.

The opening chords of "At the Beginning" cued her. _**We were strangers Starting out on a journey Never dreaming What we'd have to go through Now here we are And I'm suddenly standing At the beginning with you**_. She walked out as she started to sing, but the spotlight didn't come up till the last line of the verse. Her attention focused on stage left.

Troy strolled out to join her in the spotlight, singing his verse to her in earnest. _**No one told me**__**I was going to find you**__**Unexpected**__**What you did to my heart**__**When I lost hope**__**You were there to remind me**__**This is the start.**_ He took her hand, brought it over his heart, and covered it with his larger one.

Starting the chorus, he spun her out as he had been instructed. _**Life is a road And I want to keep going Love is a river I wanna keep flowing Life is a road Now and forever Wonderful journey I'll be there When the world stops turning I'll be there When the storm is through In the end I wanna be standing At the beginning with you. **_They sang to each other, only focusing on the person in front of them. No one else mattered. They were in love. They were letting the other know how they felt by displaying their inner passion and affection on their face. No audience would doubt their true feelings.

The educators received a standing ovation from their students and friends. Sharpay brought her microphone to her lips. "And that is how you do a final performance!"

The kids were released on time at 10:00 P.M. The first act was nailed down.

* * *

Troy was gone before Sharpay woke-up the next morning. He left a note on his pillow saying he was meeting the guys for breakfast before work and would come find her before first period to say good-morning. She found it a bit odd he hadn't woken her to tell her was leaving but decided to think nothing of it.

As promised he was waiting outside her classroom door when she arrived at East High. He greeted her with a quick kiss. "Good morning, my beautiful fiancée."

"Good morning to you too," Sharpay responded flirtatiously. "How was breakfast?"

He shrugged his shoulders though she couldn't see with her back turned as she opened the windows. "It was whatever. We had to change plans at last minute because I had a dinner thing come up."

She turned her head over her shoulder. Curiosity dotted her facial features. "What do you mean a dinner thing?"

"Just a meeting." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "It's no big deal."

Her hands went to her hips and her right eyebrow went up. "Then why are you so hesitant to give me details?" Her tone was almost accusatory. She could sense he was hiding something.

"Shar," he nearly whined, "can you please just drop it? It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure I'll be home before you're anywhere near done with rehearsals."

Before Sharpay could retort, several of her homeroom students started making their way to their desks. She gave Troy a look letting him know their conversation was far from over.

Making his way to his office, Troy actually prayed the first half of the day dragged. If Sharpay learned who he was meeting with, it could change their future drastically. She was better off remaining in the dark until dinner was over and the person was on a flight back home.

* * *

Someone was looking out for Troy that day. By sheer luck he got dragged into an impromptu lunch with the Athletic Board director and Principal Henderson to discuss the alumni-varsity fundraiser basketball game.

Sharpay was furious after spotting Troy heading towards the parking lot with their boss. She firmly believed he had organized a way to get out of talking to her. She was starting to think he really did have something to hide.

The second she walked through the door tonight, he was gonna get an earful from her. How were they supposed to consider marriage when he couldn't be honest?

* * *

Lounging on the couch with a bottle of beer in one hand and the TV remote in the other, Troy flipped to the cable menu for the time. It was 10:30 P.M. Sharpay would be home any minute. Instead of focusing on the ESPN highlights of the Lakers/Suns game, he had a stare-down with the black leather folder on the coffee table. A part of him wanted to just chuck it in the trash can. The bigger part knew he had to share with Sharpay.

Moments later he heard her key in the lock. Her heels clunked against the wall as she kicked them off and her keys clinked on the glass table. Her purse and messenger bag made a soft thud on the floor when she set them down.

She walked right into the living room with a stern glare and her arms crossed over her chest. The action pushed her breasts up and created a hole between buttons of her black button-up, revealing a peek of red lace. "Start talking, mister," she ordered.

Troy quickly retrained his eyes to the table, reached forward, grabbed the folder, and handed it to her. "I had a meeting with some representatives from the Chicago Bulls."

She glanced at the folder curiously, not sure if she should open it or not. She decided to inquire about its contents. "They want you to play?"

"This time it was an offer to join their coaching staff." He sipped his beer carelessly.

She took a seat in the armchair. "They've made an offer before?"

"Nope, but other NBA teams have while I was in college."

"Which ones?"

"Let's see." He held up his hand as he began to tick them off on his fingers. "There was the Charlotte Bobcats, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and LA Lakers who asked me to play. The Bulls are the first to ask me to coach, but the Knicks have also recently contacted me to talk."

"And you turned every one of them down to take care of your family," Sharpay whispered in awe.

"I didn't turn the Bulls down yet," he offered. "I told them I needed to discuss it with you first."

"But you're going to refuse their offer?" She studied the papers in the folder. "This is a pretty nice salary, Troy."

"Look," he sat up straight and slapped his knees, "the only offer I'd be willing to entertain is the Knicks' because it's New York. I know that's where you dream of designing, and if you wanna move there, we will. But if you're happy teaching at East High, we'll stay in Albuquerque."

"I don't want to stay here," she whispered quietly.

Troy didn't hear her. "What?"

"I said I would prefer not to stay here." She stood up and began pacing. "I can design anywhere, Troy. Chicago is a great city." She tried her best to sound to cheerful.

Troy saw right through her act. "But it's not New York."

"No," she hung her head in defeat, "It's not New York."

Troy got up. Once he was in front of her, he raised her chin with his finger and smiled. "So I guess there's no need to look at houses here. Sounds like we've got some dreams to chase in the Big Apple."

"Really?" She bounced on her heels excitedly.

"After this school year, New York is it for us, baby. What do you say?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Troy Bolton!" She brought her lips to his and transferred her emotion through the kiss.

Pulling away for air, Troy whispered back, "I love you too, Sharpay Evans." He scooped her up, causing her to squeal and headed for the bedroom.

**A/N 2: Two chapters in two days is rare for me. Like I said in my last note, I am determined to finish this story, and it's almost complete. There aren't many ends to tie up...just a happy ending :)**


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